East Africa Chef Magazine Edition 6

To DEFEAT COVID-19

IT STARTS WITH

YOU

Kshs. 300 • Ushs. 9,000 • Tshs. 6,000 • RWF. 2,200 • World USD 9

COVID-19

Making your WORKPLACE safe again

CHEF TECH

CHEF PROFILES

CHEF HUSTLE

CHEF EVENT

Kitchen Appliances And Smart Tech

Real CHEFs REAL GROWTH

EARNING FROM YOUR COOKING SKILLS

Chef Expo Off To A Great Start EDITION #06

THE CHEF’S TRUSTED PARTNERS

CERAMICS TABLEWARE LIMITED

PERFECT SERVING SOLUTIONS

0704 052 333 | 0777 333 368 | www.eastafricachef.com

EastAfricaCHEF

EastAfricaCHEF

EastAfricaChef

CONTENTS 21

12

The East Africa Chef Expo Is Off To

A Great Start

54

KITCHEN TECH

24

CREATING a Full Course Meal?

40

COVID19: Making your WORKPLACE safe again

Doing Business as a Personal Chef

62

HOW READY IS YOUR STEAK? 4

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

EastAfricachef.com

EDITOR’S NOTE restored? The situation is dire for almost everyone. Employers in the industry have have to let go of chefs, waiters, cooks, and all personnel that were previously manning activities around the commercial kitchen.

As if that is not enough, the establishments that had hoped to close briefly, are now facing the likelihood of longer closures or even insolvency.

Whatever the picture, the industry has never required more hope than it does right now. Everyone is looking for some straw to clutch upon. It is not easy, but there has to be a deliberate effort by all industry stakeholders to try and stay optimistic that eventually, this battle with Covid-19 will be won. At the moment, it might not seem that way, but we have to have hope that there will be a ray of light at the end of the tunnel in the near future.

new horizons!

t

he Covid-19 situation around the world has truly devastated many businesses. One of the sectors that have been hard-hit is the Hospitality industry.

Without occupancy for hotel facilities, there can be no business, and without clients, there can be no food to prepare in the kitchen. It is a viscious and blistering fight for survival for most establishments.

As a matter of fact, majority of hospitality establishments have either completely closed or are barely surviving. Few people foresaw the impact Covid-19 would have on various sectors of the economy. The question that now comes to mind for most people in the industry is: how do we survive long enough to still stay in business when a semblance of normalcy is

CORE TEAM MANAGING EDITOR Oliver Odhiambo: Editor@eachef.com LAYOUT Sam Morara: sam@eachef.com MARKETING TEAM Jeniffer Kananu: jenny@eachef.com Florah Mumbua: florah@eachef.com www.eachef.com Issue 6

As most economies look to re-open in spite of the complex situation we face today, it is our responsibility to try and play by the rules that could help us stay above the Covid-19 nightmare, especially in as far as our restaurants and commercial kitchens are concerned. High levels of hygiene and standards for food preparation must be maintained and observed strictly. There shouldn’t be any room for complacency lest we end up with spiking infections, and the prospect of closure again!

As we seek to get our act together, we can only promise that this publication will continue to offer valuable information to help us make the right and informed choices to mitigate the effects of Covid-19. That is what we have dedicated this edition to, as you wil see in the table of contents beforehand.

May this copy give you the hope you need, that at the end of the day, we will still emerge stronger, and with capacity to serve the market even better.

Oliver Odhiambo

Managing Editor

The East Africa Chef Magazine may not be copied, transmitted or stored in any way electronically or otherwise without the prior and written consent of Infobox Media.

All correspondence to the Editor is assumed to be intended for publication.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval systems or transmitted in any form by any means without prior written permission of the InfoBox Media.

P.O Box 2097-00621 The Village Market, Nairobi Tel: 0704 052 333, 0777 333 368 Email: info@eachef.com www.eastafricachef.com

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

5

PRODUCT LAUNCH

The BASF Jikoni Testing Centre Launch

E

ast Africa Chef attended the BASF Jikoni Testing Centre Launch on the 26th of February, 2020 at The Pavilion, 6th floor on Lower Kabete Road. In attendance were different representatives from the baking industry including chefs, home bakers and suppliers to the baking industry.

Together we learnt how to use their new whipping agent, Lamequick from the Technical Application Manager Robert Salacz and also got to sample chocolate

6

cake and chocolate mousse made using their ingredients.

Food Science and Nutrition department at Biomedica, Eliud Mbugua confirmed that Biomedica is happy with the results of the BASF ingredients so far. Upon request, the Biomedica Lab team makes pre-mixes, whipping creams, cake mixes and milling and bakery improvers for bakers and formulaters.

Currently, Biomedica Lab is a distributor of BASF ingredients. A member of the

Nairobi houses the BASF regional hub for Eastern Africa.

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

EastAfricachef.com

PRODUCT LAUNCH

Blue Band Master is a buttery flavored baking margarine with fat level of 80%(minimum).

It guarantees quality at an affordable price. Its a “baker’s best friend”, with quality guaranteed, ease of handling and creams without the need of a mixing machine.

WHY BLUEBAND MASTER Formulated with customer satisfaction as its core target Blue Band Master guarantees the following;

Issue 6

nn

Better taste-has a buttery flavor and aroma that gives the end-product a richer, milkier and creamier taste.

nn

Good creaming ability-Blue Band Master creams faster even without the use of a mixing machine, its easier to achieve desired fluffiness thus saves time when used in baking cakes and cookies.

nn

Unique mix of emulsifiers to increase shortening effect

nn

Better Yield (get more cakes and cookies)

nn

No allergens used (has no soy lecithin, and milk)

nn

Blue Band Master is manufactured by a market leader and trusted brand in Kenya since 1956

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

7

PRODUCT LAUNCH

SHEFFIELD LAUNCHES MOMBASA SHOWROOM

S

heffield Africa recently opened a commercial kitchen, laundry and cold room equipment showroom at their branch office in Nyali, Mombasa. The launch event took place on 6th December, in their office at Links Road, Petro City Complex- 1st floor. Among the chefs and entrepreneurs in attendance was Chef Maliha Mohammed, the recent Guinness World Record Breaker in cooking for the longest duration, as the Guest of honor.

According to the Sheffield Africa MD, Dr. Suresh Kanotra, their aim with the new showroom is to bring their solutions and live product demonstrations closer to their current and potential clients in Mombasa.

“We started serving the Coast Region since our inception as one of our core markets in Kenya. Given that our solutions are custom-made and require live demonstration, one needs to touch the product and see it in action to truly realize the quality and workmanship in our crafts. Seeing the product’s design in person and the product in action brings an entirely different perspective that

Ribbon cutting as the showroom was officially opened may further impress a client,” said Mr. Suresh. “We will now be able to host live cooking, laundry and cold room demo sessions, and provide our clients at the Coast an opportunity to fully experience the innovative concepts that they plan to incorporate in their businesses,” he added.

Food Tasting from Rational

Chef Maliha giving a welcome note during the opening

8

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

Among Sheffield Africa’s major clients in Mombasa are Hemingways Hotel, Sarova Whitesands Hotel and The Voyager hotel. Being a full commercial kitchen facility provider, Sheffield also serves restaurants, institution kitchens and corporate kitchens. With Caffesserie and Kokko’s Café & Bistro, the Aga Khan Academy, Hare Krishna, and corporate kitchens for Mombasa Cement and Mombasa Maize Millers as part of their clientele.

Mr. Kush Kanotra, Sheffield Africa’s Mombasa Branch Manager, and his team will be available at the Mombasa office to tend to their esteemed clients.

EastAfricachef.com

Pradip Enterprises (E.A.) Limited is an importer, exporter, packer, wholesaler and retailer of halal food ingredients. Immense emphases are laid on the quality of products sourced from principal suppliers. This is derived from appropriate facilities and processes at Pradip, in conjunction with our prime suppliers and even key customers, whose combined efforts are focused on development and use of environmentally safe products.

We continue to develop and explore new horizons.

Through our group of highly dedicated and motivated staff and management team, we will continue to work tirelessly to accomplish our goals, while being sensitive to the needs of society at large.

We are committed to excellence by providing quality products at an affordable price.

STOCKIST OF ALL FOOD INGREDIENTS: FOOD COLOURS, FOOD ADDITIVES, POWDER FLAVOURS, DRY FRUITS, HERBS & SPICES. We also stock:- RAW MATERIALS FOR DETERGENTS & COSMETICS

PRADIP ENTERPRISES (E.A.) LTD. P.O. BOX 49916 – 00100 GPO NAIROBI, KENYA. MOBILE: (+254) 0731 049 812 / 0708 090 207 / 0775 391 200 E-MAIL: sales@pel-ea.co.ke / info@pel-ea.co.ke

THE UPDATES

Gurpreet Singh Mehta F&B Director, PrideInn Hotel

P

rideInn Group has appointed Gurpreet Singh Mehta as the new Director of Food and Beverage and Culinary Operations at PrideInn Paradise Beach Resort and Spa in Shanzu.

In his new role, Gupreet will oversee the operations of the group’s food and beverage departments. The veteran hospitality manager is also tasked with taking the hotel forward with new culinary experiences and other exciting initiatives in this role.

His appointment comes barely three months after the hotel was awarded a five star ranking becoming the only five star hotel in Mombasa County.

Speaking after his appointment, he said: “I’m excited to join PrideInn group oversee PrideInn Paradise food and beverage operations. I really love everything about Kenyan tourism and hospitality industry and especially its traditions and the fantastic culinary experiences. My aim is to use my expertise to build on those tasty experiences and captivate clients through a world class variety of food and beverage offerings.”

In his welcome message, Hasnain Noorani, PrideInn Group Managing

10

Gurpreet made his name in Kenya’s culinary circles as Executive Chef of the Sarova Whitesands Resort in Mombasa.

PrideInn has hence landed a major coup in recruiting him and the hotel group with now 8 hotels in their portfolio, 3 in Nairobi, 1 in Diani, 1 in Mombasa itself and 3 more along the north coast, will no doubt benefit from further uplifting the F&B standards for their guests.

Director, said: “Gupreet is a fantastic addition to the PrideInn team and the coast hospitality industry at large. He has exceptional industry experience, he has passion for his job that will invigorate the team and drive it to achieve even more, and he will help take the group’s guest experiences to the next level when it comes to the food and beverages that we will now be offering” Gurpreet began his career in hospitality as an Executive Chef at Arabian Courtyard and Spa, Dubai. After a stint at the Marriott Mena House, Cairo, he joined Dhow Palace Hotel Dubai as Executive Chef. He now joins PrideInn Group from Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort and Spa in Mombasa, where he has been the executive chef.

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

PrideInn Hotels only recently had their PrideInn Paradise certified by Kenyan authorities as a 5 star property and like its sister resort in Shanzu, the Flamingo

by PrideInn, has built up a strong following for major MICE events held at the Kenya coast.

PrideInn Paradise is the only resort in Mombasa County to achieve the highest possible Tourism Regulatory authority (TRA) rating.

PrideInn chain of hotels consists of 8 hotels PrideInn Paradise Beach Resort and Spa, PrideInn Flamingo Beach Resort, PrideInn Mombasa City, PrideInn Nyali and PrideInn Diani, PrideInn Westlands, PrideInn Raphta and PrideInn Lantana Suites which range from luxury to economy.

EastAfricachef.com

CHEF EXPO’19

The East Africa Chef Expo Is Off To

A Great Start

By Debra Osawo

A

fter three years of organizing the East Africa Bakery and Pastry Expo, one thing became clear: not only did chefs hugely benefit from this exhibition, but they also needed one that solely focused on their cooking needs. And thus the East Africa Chef Expo was born.

CHEFS ACROSS EAST AFRICA The first-ever East Africa Chef Expo took place between the 24th and the 26th of October, 2019 at the new Sarit Centre Expo Hall in Westlands, Nairobi. There had been quite a bit of anticipation leading up to this event. Not only had chefs from across East Africa expressed their interest in attending the event, but student chefs-in-training were also highly anticipating meeting their seniors and learning more about the industry they are currently training for.

12

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

Many initially assumed that the Chef Expo was going to be a platform for chefs to show off their cooking skills. And although there are plans to incorporate that in the future, the Chef Expo is actually an exhibition that gives chefs the opportunity to meet their suppliers from those who produce the ingredients that go into preparing their meals to those who supply the dishes used to serve those meals once they are ready.

EastAfricachef.com

East Africa Chef Expo 2019

CHEF EXPO’19

Issue 6

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

13

CHEF EXPO’19

A SPACE WHERE CHEFS COULD SOCIALIZE Although meeting suppliers and learning about what’s in the market was a significant part of this event, it was also important to create a space where chefs could socialize amongst themselves, as well as learn from each other. The Chef Forum that took place on the first day of the Expo was especially designed with this in mind. For an entire afternoon, guests had the opportunity to learn from those in the industry about food safety and hospitality, among other things.

WIDE RANGE OF FIELDS Consequently, the exhibitors at the expo came from a wide range of fields in the HORECA industry. We hosted Blue Band Kenya, Brandables E.A. Limited, Pradip Enterprises, Sirimon Cheese, Spiceworld, Triclover Limited, Trufoods, and Tropical Heat; as well as cookware suppliers such as Ceramics Tableware Limited, EAGM Limited and Oshwal Wholesalers Limited; to heavy commercial equipment suppliers such as Bakewave Limited, Eco-burner, Kitchen Professionals Limited and Visiontec Enterprises Limited; and lastly, Crown Jewel Enterprises Limited, a company that has been providing the hotel industry with quality uniforms and

14

linen for over 20 years.

Food safety is of equal - if not greater importance to chefs as is anything else that has to do with preparing meals; and that’s where companies like NemChem (INT) Kenya come in. Nemchem exhibited its food-safe chemicals at the initial EA Chef Expo, including Optimum, its best-seller kitchen chemical in over 8 countries.

“When it comes to the kitchen,” says Alex Kinuthia, ICT & Digital Marketing Manager at Nemchem, “the first thing is hygiene. If you can hack that, you’re good to go.”

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

The forum included a summit which gave executive chefs from hotels across the country the opportunity to share what they have learnt about their experiences in the kitchen, and to also answer questions relating to the industry.

“There’s always something that a chef can teach,” states Executive Chef Shafiq Ali of Blue Band Kenya, who made a point of putting his money where his mouth is by sharing knowledge about a plant-based diet at the expo. Blue Band is now under Upfields foods, a plant-based company that is committed to introducing a plant-based diet to Kenyans.

EastAfricachef.com

CHEF EXPO’19

Issue 6

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

15

CHEF EXPO’19

FINDING HEALTHIER OPTIONS Along with finding healthier options for food comes finding healthier ways to prepare and serve food. Kitchen Professionals Limited (KPL) is moving towards providing machines that are not only energy-saving but also ecofriendly. They’re also intent on making commercial kitchens safer in terms of gas consumption, installations and making their machines much easier to move around than the machines usually used in commercial kitchens.

“There are no shortcuts,” insists Arvind Mani, Director at KPL.”Shortcuts mean

you’re compromising on safety.”

In addition to cooking in a safe environment comes serving food in a safer, healthier way. That’s why the East Africa Chef Expo was happy to host Odex Chemicals, who have partnered with Ecoburner to introduce a new, eco-friendly option used for serving buffet meals. The Eco-burner is a water-chafing dish with a stainless steel finish. According to John Horgan of Eco-burner, it is a “greener, cleaner, safer replacement to Jells & Wix”.

TIME FOR A CHANGE John Horgan of Eco-burner further explains that the current systems have been in use since the 1800s.

Thus, it’s time for a change.

His sentiments seem to be shared by many, as the eco-burner is now in 60 countries. Seeing as the burners in the current buffetserving dishes don’t have any safety features, Eco-burner made sure to add in-built safety features to its dishes. What’s more, the dishes burn clean fuel when they’re in use and automatically switch off if they fall.

On the last day of the expo, Chef Raphael made an appearance at the East Africa Chef Expo, and spent most of the day cooking for guests at the Tropical Heat stall, using Tropical Heat Spices to bring out different flavours from everyday meals like pilau. Tropical Heat also introduced their newly-packaged curry powder at the expo.

16

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

EastAfricachef.com

CHEF EXPO’19

Issue 6

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

17

CHEF EXPO’19

A PERSONAL FAVOURITE Bakewave Limited also had a couple of treats prepared for their guests, the meat being a personal favourite for many.

Chef Timothy Miyumo at the Bakewave stall used sauce from Tri-clover Limited to marinate the chicken before baking it, allowing attendees to the expo the opportunity to see the Bakewave machines in action as well as sample Triclover sauce all at once.

When asked why it was so important for chefs to not only see their machines at work, but to also sample a taste of what was being cooked in them, administrator at Bakewave Christine Amondi had this to say, “Chefs are the ones who understand. When you tell them the price, they know what they’ll get out of it.”

Head of Cooperate & Food Service Division at Oshwal Wholesalers Anthony Maloba is of the same school of thought.

“The chefs’ input drives our decisionmaking,” he explains. “The chef is the user. Chefs are the ones who plate the food. They have more knowledge.”

MORE THAN HAPPY TO SHARE Thankfully, some of the chefs who attended the expo were more than happy to share this knowledge with the students who came ready to learn whatever they could about the industry. To conclude the expo, we had a mentorship program which allowed students from Utalii College to spend quality time with these chefs, asking them questions and hearing about their personal experiences in the kitchen.

In retrospect, it’s safe to say that the first-ever East Africa Chef Expo was a huge success, and we’re already looking forward to hosting the next one. As long as our chefs are eager to learn how best to prepare their meals, we’ll remain committed to creating a platform for them to do so.

18

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

EastAfricachef.com

CHEF EXPO’19

Issue 6

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

19

KITCHEN TECH

RESTAURANT TECH Kitchen technology innovations can help you to manage these events seamlessly.

Some useful equipment for offsite, table-side and outdoor catering includes:

TurboChef Double Batch Oven This ventless impingement oven gives you the flexibility to cook more food faster, and it’s an ideal solution for space-challenged stations. Two high-speed ovens provide quick service, and chefs can control each oven separately with a split-screen, Wi-Fi-enabled touch controller. The oven utilises impinged air, oscillating racks and variable speed blowers to circulate hot air at speeds up to 80 kph.

Specialty Ovens Cook and hold ovens provide the ultimate equipment for busy cooks to set temperatures and not worry about the food. When the food is done, the oven will hold it at a safe temperature until needed. Most of these ovens use radiant heat, which reduces energy usage. These ovens don’t require a canopy or ventilation. Other specialty ovens include combi three-in-one ovens that use steam, convected heat or both. Smart combi ovens save space and can be monitored remotely. Smart oven technology enables include multipurpose units that replace several appliances. The advanced June oven works as a dehydrator, convection oven, slow cooker, air fryer, broiler, toaster and warming drawer.

Technology advances will soon produce ovens that can even read recipes and create the dishes using augmented reality.

20

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

EastAfricachef.com

KITCHEN TECH

Kitchen management Software In 2019, Jamix KMS software received a 2019 kitchen Innovations Award.

The intuitive software is cloud-based, so you can use it anywhere, and it can be used on any device, browser and operating system. Chefs can use it for recipes, costing and menu planning but it also integrates with procurement and inventory management. It’s easy to use.

Vulcan Versatile Chef Station

More Appealing Design

Vulcan’s Versatile Chef Station, the VCS, is a cooktop that can be configured in multiple ways. The station has six integrated elements that provide even heat from corner to corner. An integrated probe monitors the temperature of liquids. You can use VCS for frying tempura, cooking pasta, searing, boiling braising, sautéing, steaming and shallow frying. The unit connects to your water supply and drains waste liquid into a floor drain or optional 6-gallon shuttle.

In offsite catering, table-side cooking and open kitchens, the appearance of your equipment is crucial. Great chefs can create mouth-watering food over an open pit, but if customers see the pit, it needs a clever design and appealing appearance. Many equipment manufacturers are revamping their designs in 2019 by replacing knobs with touchscreens, rounding sharp edges and producing equipment in various colours to complement your front-of-the-house decorating scheme.

On-premises Herb Gardens

Kiosks/tabletop tablets Say goodbye to cash registers and hello to kiosks, the newest in point-of-sale technology. You might have already seen a few of these free-standing screens at your local restaurant chain, and if you did, you probably noticed the dramatic difference it made to the ordering process. At these kiosks, customers are able to browse the menu, create customized orders, and pay for their meal entirely on their own. This, along with suggestions for upsells and cross-sells, encourages diners to order more. Having kiosks to handle the transactions allows employees to focus their efforts on back-of-house operations and customer service, rather than having their efforts divided. There is talk of developing these devices further to incorporate recognition technology, which will allow the system to suggest orders and payment type according to a customer’s visual and verbal signals. Until then, the current kiosks will continue to increase a restaurant’s efficiency and profitability.

Issue 6

Sustainability is a big draw, and more commercial operations are growing their own produce and herbs, curing meats and fermenting foods. One great new technology is using refrigerated cabinets to grow herbs and microgreens in-house.

These units can be used for the freshest salads and herbs, and you can set conditions for each of four compartments for different light, temperature and water needs.

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

21

KITCHEN TECH

Kitchen Appliances

And Smart Technology

T

he latest trends in kitchen appliances aim to transform the heart of the home into a well-appointed command center, where everything is easily controlled by a touch of a button or the sound of your voice.

Samsung Family Hub Food brings people together, can a refrigerator do the same? Samsung’s first-ever side-by-side Family Hub aims to do just that. Engineered to connect, its Family Board is a digital bulletin board where everyone can easily stick notes, photos or videos they want to share on display, and that is just the beginning.

The latest Family Hub refrigerator model is designed not only to streamline communication, but maximize time in the kitchen. The View Inside feature, which allows users to peak inside the fridge anywhere, anytime, makes grocery shopping that much more organized.

Plus, with the SmartThings app, Family Hub becomes the remote control for your smart home, letting you instantly connect, monitor and control all of your smart appliances.

Its technology is not limited to syncing with smart devices. Each model has a redesigned interior to fit more groceries.

Plus, those groceries will stay fresher for longer because of its all-around cooling technology and multiple vents to keep food evenly cooled and fresh.

It’s not just smart, it looks good, too.

Its modern form and premium built-in

22

DIGITAL COOKING EXPERIENCE POWERED BY AI Last years GE Kitchen Hub offers just about everything a tech savvy home chef could wish for in a smart appliance. Designed as hood range with a built-in smart display, the Kitchen Hub boasts cameras that could view, record and share your cooktop, recipe apps and more. The latest model, dubbed the GE Next Gen Kitchen Hub, takes it a step further with the addition of a builtin microwave and an additional third camera inside the oven that’s integrated into an artificial intelligence computer.

Featuring a sizable and chic 27-inch smart touch screen and ventilation combo, the new Kitchen Hub can still easily fit in the space above the range. The Next Gen’s AI technology helps home chefs select recipes based on available ingredients detected by a camera, assists in detection of

SAMSUNG slide-in ranges

look, characterized by elegant flat doors, minimal dispenser and recessed handles, blend seamlessly with existing kitchen appliances and cabinetry. Another bonus: it comes with a fingerprint-resistant finish that’s easy to keep clean.

The Samsung Family Hub for 2020 will enable families to more easily share life’s important moments with one another and control more of the connected devices within their smart home.

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

Samsung’s new lineup of slide-in ranges that make cooking more convenient.

(Photo courtesy of Samsung Electronics)

EastAfricachef.com

KITCHEN TECH

Smart Faucet

doneness of food items, raises or lowers oven temperature and notes any missing ingredients. The third in-oven camera, allows users to view their meals as it cooks.

The tablet-meets-microwave can also help minimize food waste. The AI powered computer vision helps people use the ingredients they have on hand to quickly create meal options. With features such as a built-in Google Assistant, owners can also create grocery lists and plan meals.

GE’s next gen Kitchen Hub allows the user a full-service kitchen experience.

(Photo courtesy of GE Appliances)

The Next Gen also offers multiangle live video chats and connectivity to other smart home devices, like temperature control, lighting systems and cameras. If that wasn’t enough, you can also stream Netflix and Spotify from the display.

Samsung also unveiled a new lineup of slide-in ranges that make cooking more convenient. Certain models of the slidein ranges can be controlled with voice assistants, allowing you to bring out your full potential as a home chef.

Make the most of prep time by instructing the range to preheat the oven while you’re mixing ingredients for a meal. It will even begin to learn your cooking preferences.

For example, if you frequently set your oven to a certain temperature to bake your family’s favorite cookies, it will suggest that temperature first when you preheat your oven.

In today’s smart homes, even the faucet is engineered to amaze. The U by Moen Smart Faucet’s intuitive voice-activation technology is designed to streamline the most mundane kitchen tasks.

Its voice control allows users to start and stop water flow, as well as perform specific tasks on command through digital voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

For example, with just a few words, the faucet provides the perfect amount and temperature of water for preparing a baby bottle or fills a pot with exactly four quarts of hot water while you chop veggies for dinner. No more multitasking blunders, here.

Users are able to control the U by Moen Smart Faucet in multiple ways in addition to voice control. A Wave Sensor positioned at the front of the faucet turns water on or off with a simple hand movement while the handle on the side of the faucet offers manual operation, letting users adjust flow and temperature.

While it’s not uncommon for smart home appliances to have a modern aesthetic, the U by Moen is available in a range of finishes to suit consumers’ varying styles and budgets.

The new ranges also come with air frying capabilities and can remotely monitor and adjust cooking times or temperatures from your smartphone, even when you’re in the family room instead of the kitchen.

Issue 6

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

23

KITCHEN

ESSENTIAL

What Is a Full Course Meal?

A full course dinner is a meal featuring multiple courses. The basic full course meal consists of three or four courses.

Full course meals normally begin with precursors to a main dish, such as an amuse-bouche or soup, followed by the main course(s), and they are finished off with sweets, coffee, and tea.

Full course meals frequently take place at someone’s home, at a venue, or at a

24

restaurant. They are customarily enjoyed in the afternoon or evening for a special occasion. In both upscale restaurants and casual eateries, guests can opt for a full course meal by ordering multiple dishes to come out at separate times.

What Is a Meal Course?

A meal course is a single food item or a set of food items served at once, such as a sandwich, soup and crackers, or steak

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

and mashed potatoes. An average meal consists of one or more meal courses.

How Many Courses Are in a Meal?

Many meals only contain one course.

The most basic full course meal is made up of 2 or 3 of the following courses: an appetizer, a main dish, and a dessert.

However, meals can feature up to 12 or more courses.

EastAfricachef.com

KITCHEN ESSENTIAL

Sample Sequences for Up to 12 Meal Courses

3

A common and logical way for your full course meal to proceed is by starting with light plates, continuing with richer dishes, and finishing off with small and delicate items.

Below are sample full course meal sequences, but you can choose which meal courses you would like to include on your menu.

5

Course Meal

A 5 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, appetizer, salad, main course, and dessert.

9

6

Course Meal

Course Meal

A 3 course dinner menu includes an appetizer, main course, and dessert.

A 4 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, appetizer, main course, and dessert.

7

8

Course Meal

A 6 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, soup, appetizer, salad, main course, and dessert.

10

Course Meal

Course Meal

A 9 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, soup, appetizer, salad, fish, main course, palate cleanser, dessert, and mignardise.

A 10 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, soup, appetizer, salad, fish, main course, palate cleanser, second main course, dessert, and mignardise.

Issue 6

4

Course Meal

Course Meal

A 7 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, soup, appetizer, salad, main course, dessert, and mignardise.

An 8 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, soup, appetizer, salad, main course, palate cleanser, dessert, and mignardise.

12

Course Meal

A 12 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, amusebouche, soup, appetizer, salad, fish, first main course, palate cleanser, second main course, cheese course, dessert, and mignardise

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

25

KITCHEN ESSENTIAL

12 Course Meal Menu

Below are explanations of the courses that may comprise a 12 course meal as well as dish suggestions for each course.

Course One [ Hors d’oeuvres ]

Course Four [ Appetizer ]

Course Six [ Fish ]

Since this course is typically served during a cocktail hour or as guests are arriving, hors d’oeuvres are usually finger-foods that can be held in the hand.

In many parts of Europe, this course is referred to as the “entree” because it introduces the main courses in the meal.

It is usually served on serving trays or small appetizer plates and features small cuts of meat, seasonal vegetables, starches, and sauces.

This dish is a flavorful light protein before the main courses.

nn nn nn

Goat cheese crostini with fig-olive tapenade Zucchini fritters Shallot and pancetta tortilla crisps

nn nn nn

nn

Grilled salmon with a soy sauce marinade

nn

Lemon garlic tilapia

nn

Crispy trout with a parsley-caper vinaigrette

Charred broccoli with shishito peppers and pickled onions Mushrooms stuffed with Pecorino Romano, garlic, and bread crumbs Candied carrots with honey, cumin, and paprika

Course Two [ Amuse-bouche ] This can be translated from French to mean “amuse the mouth” or more generally, to please guests’ palates with a small flavorful taste. Frequently, this might serve to stimulate the appetite or simply hint at flavors to come in the next meal course(s). In restaurants, this is normally a complementary item specifically chosen by the chef. nn nn nn

Sweet potato chips with goat cheese and caviar Caprese bites with basil vinaigrette Pea soup served in a shot glass or espresso cup

26

Course Five [ Salad ] This course is usually an assortment of raw vegetables with a flavorful dressing.

In some parts of Europe, salad is served after the main course, but it is also common to serve salad before. nn nn nn

Garden salad with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and tart vinaigrette Chopped Thai salad with peanut dressing Greek salad with olives, lettuce, red onions, and feta cheese

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

Course Seven [First main course] The first main dish is often a white meat, such as chicken, duck, or turkey. nn nn nn

Spicy basil chicken Roasted duck with an orange-ginger glaze Deep-fried turkey with a honey bourbon glaze EastAfricachef.com

KITCHEN ESSENTIAL

Course Ten [ Cheese course ] Create a platter of different cheeses along with items to accompany them.

Course Eight [ Palate Cleanser] This is like a reset for your taste buds. Its purpose is to remove residual tastes from the mouth before the next course. nn Sorbet (lemon, melon, or mint) nn Prosecco nn Water with lemon

Course Nine [ Second main course] Typically, the second main course is a red meat, such as premium beef, lamb, or venison. nn Stuffed lamb breast with lemon, ricotta, and oregano nn Grilled flatiron steak with rosemary potatoes nn Herb-crusted venison medallions

nn

Include a variety of cheese textures and flavours, such as aged, soft, firm, and blue cheeses

nn

Choose a selection of breads and crackers

nn

Provide companion items, such as jams, chutneys, spicy mustards, caramelized onions, candied nuts and pistachios

Course Eleven [Dessert] Usually accompanied by a glass of dessert wine or coffee and tea, this is a sweet and decadent course. nn Rich flourless chocolate cake with a glass of sweet port wine nn Lemon creme brulee with dry white wine nn Fruit tarts and berries with champagne

Course Twelve (Mignardise] At the end of the meal, you can serve a mignardise, which is a tiny, bitesized dessert or pastry served with tea, coffee, port, brandy, or scotch. nn Miniature butter madeleine biscuits nn Small pieces of chocolate nn Bite-sized macarons

Issue 6

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

27

CHEF

BRANDING

OnLINE CHEF A

s social media use continues to rise, so has the standard of food. It can’t just taste good. It has to look good too. Making the saying “you eat first with your eyes” more true with time.

Following this trend, chef accounts decorated with rainbow bagels and latte art are many, and restaurants are pumping out eye-catching food creations to try and grab your attention as you scroll.

So the big question for a restaurant owner is;“How do I make my food look good on social media?”

Anybody can take a picture of their food, but making it look delicious enough for somebody to order is a little trickier.

Moving Online Like any skill, taking great pictures and writing engaging captions will take some practice, but it is worth putting in the

time. Why? When used properly, social media can expose you to new customers and keep you connected to returning customers.

Use Instagram Your target audience is most likely on instagram, which means they’re already engaged with what they’re seeing.

Instagram is not only one of the most popular social media networks, but also has one of the highest engagement rates.

The smallest thing can help diners choose you instead of a competitor, so start with having your Instagram active with regular updates. Once you’ve got into the flow of posting regularly, focus on boosting the quality.

Branding Before you start posting decide how you want to portray yourself through photos. Maybe having all black and white imagery on your Instagram isn’t the best idea. Get out your cooking personality and use that to influence your content Once you know what you want to post, consider who will be involved posting.

Who will do the posting?

You may get one other person who understands social media communication to help post on your page. Pick a trustworthy and knowledgeable person, to review your social media strategy and make sure you are confident that what is posted will aline with what you want to portray. By limiting who has access, you’re also limiting the chance of mistakes being made on your profile.

To better manage posting photos or

CHEF BRANDING content, use a social media management software like Hootsuite or Postcron.

You can pre-populate the images and captions you want posted ahead of time, or if you have other staff adding posts to your account and have them set the post for your approval. This way, you don’t have to do all the posting manually, but you’re still in control of the content going out.

How often should you post?

Most major brands share one to two posts per day. This doesn’t mean you have to post that often if the content isn’t there. Some brands post three to four times a week, while others update as often as as 10 times a day.

When deciding how often you should post, there are a couple key points you’ll want to consider: nn

Is the frequency sustainable for you? Try to pick a standard that you’re able to maintain. Don’t aim to post twice a day if you don’t have enough content.

nn

What are you posting? Once you’ve decided how often to post, decide at what time. The best times to post on Instagram for engagement are 8am, 1pm, and 9pm. Start with focusing on these times and make adjustment as you notice patterns emerge from your audience. If you notice your posts at 1pm get a lot of engagement, but nothing at 8am, adjust! It’s all about what works best for your business.

nn

Focus your posting schedule around some recurring themes, for instance every Tuesday post a picture of your mouth-watering pizza or every Wednesday feature your Lady’s night treats or on Friday post your mouth watering ‘Nyama Choma’.

This gives your followers something consistent to look forward to and something you can prepare for every week, because you know what’s coming.

share to their own walls. They’ll be more likely to share your image or story and tag you when they come eat (helping you advertise in the process).

Encourage this organic sharing by placing your social media details around the restaurant, so it’s easy for customers to share and tag you when they get that perfect shot. Consider placing these details directly on your menu or on a display near the entrance. Don’t make them search for it.

Free WIFI You can also encourage diners to share posts of your food on Instagram by offering free WI-FI in your restaurant.

You can even go one step further and set up your WI-FI with social media login which makes it even easier to connect

on Instagram. This way you can promote your own social channels serving up a reminder that diners can engage with you on Instagram without using up their data.

Also, don’t forget to engage with what your customers are posting. If you see a story you’re mentioned in, share it on your own Instagram story. If you’re tagged in a photo, comment on it.

This activity not only shows your audience you’re engaged, but also improves their experience and shows your appreciation. Plus, people sharing your food on their Instagram accounts is essentially giving all their followers the thumbs-up on your restaurant and a sneak peek at your menu.

Before you start posting decide how you want to portray yourself through photos.

Getting Your Customers Involved The first and most obvious step to posting your food on Instagram as a marketing tool is to be more active.

Posting content regularly also sets a precedent, gives customers something to Issue 6

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

29

CHEF PROFILE

‘‘Boulevard’’ The orchid Hotel, Mumbai [Maharashtra] - India ‘‘Surya Villas’’ Le meridian hotel, Jaipur [Rajasthan] - India ‘‘Lord’’ Aberdare Country Club at the Ark Lodge, Kenya Have been to bush experience in Uganda - Chobe Safari Lodge and Para Safari lodge for International Cuisine.

What was your first job in food?

I remember after college, during the first six months, I did dry food store lifting, vegetable receiving and arranging, which actually set me a platform that would later catapult me into a career as a chef.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I just wanted to become a chef. It was in me right from childhood.

What’s your favorite thing about being a chef?

I’m always delighted making various cuisines for the guests who come to the hotel. It leaves me very gratified when they share words of complement and gratitude for the meals I’ve prepared. I’m also thankful that due to this career, I can meet the needs of some less fortunate people in the society through giving them food I have prepared. Finally, I love preparing various dishes for my son Lokesh whenever I’m on vacation. It makes me so proud to feel that I can feed people, and it’s all the work of my hands.

Did you have an ‘‘aha’’ moment when you knew you wanted to be a chef?

Awards received: Served Prince of Wales (H.E Prince Charles, during bush breakfast in Uganda 2014.)

Graduate Diploma in Hotel Management from Chennai, India.

What restaurants have you worked at?

Did you go to any culinary school? If so, where?

I have worked in different restaurants like;

Just like it is the case with most chefs, I went to a culinary school. I have a Post-

‘‘Kebab Factory’’ & ‘‘Noble House’’ Radisson hotel, Jalandhar [Punjab] - India

30

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

It was never an easy path for me right from the start. My father, the Late Shri Devender Kashyap, wanted me to pursue a career in engineering. But I chose a different path that my father didn’t completely approve of. I looked for various opportunities for admission to colleges, and ended up with a brochure, through the help of a friend who wanted to join college too. We didn’t have EastAfricachef.com

CHEF PROFILE

money to purchase the brochure. The little we had was only sufficient for a single admission form. We purchased it, and it had all details about the various courses in Hotel Management from the institution of choice. My friend, who had volunteered to buy the admission form, opted out and instead asked me to fill the form and take the opportunity for myself. I did, and he dropped out of the idea. To date, I’m grateful for his act of kindness. It was this selfless act that enabled me to enroll into college and pursue my course in Hotel Management.

Best Advice you ever got?

I once was advised by a mentor of mine who said, “Every day is a learning day to improve our skills. You will get all the experience you need in life by continuously learning.”

What’s strangest things you have ever eaten?

That has to be Sea cucumber.

What’s your favorite ingredients?

For me, all ingredients are essential. It only depends on the food you are set to prepare. But they all serve as essential parts of the cooking process.

What ingredients turns you off the most?

What would you like to do before you get too old to do it?

Who would you like to meet and cook for?

I’m hopeful I will publish my own book which will carry my experiences in culinary art over the years, which might help young chefs to understand new ways of doing food, through my lenses.

My guests, family and friends because everyone has own importance in our life

How do you deal with the stress?

I believe I have always endeared myself to a positive attitude at all times. It helps immensely with those pressure moments in the kitchen. A positive attitude is a sure way to get you out of sticky situations when preparing food under pressure.

Tell us funny story from the kitchen.

I remember way back when I’d be involved in banqueting for enormous number of guests, for instance, busy banquets of 1000-3000 Pax, we rarely got time to go and eat in staff cafeteria.

We’d therefore devise clever ways to have our meals and save on time. We’d get food from the kitchen and eat under the laid out buffet, away from prying eyes, right after the guests had eaten.

Sometimes we would even spend the night there in order to get up early and beat the morning schedule. We ended up saving a lot on taxi money as well! Phew, I often smile when I think of those days!

During my free time, I read books on culinary arts, and also spend time trying to comprehend different skills from renowned chefs from around the world.

Various TV cooking shows have been very helpful indeed.

Issue 6

Is there some little something you do for your family to make up for the time you’re not with them?

My son recently began taking interest in cooking, so whenever I’m far from him he just loves trying those things to remember the time we spent together in our sweet home kitchen.

How did becoming a chef change your life or your direction?

I have ended up having the resolve to do things differently. This, I have been able to learn from the passion I have derived out of my work as a chef.

The fact that I ended up as a chef is reason enough for me to say I have succeeded in my career journey so far.

What’s yours favorite tool in the kitchen?

What do you do when you’re not cooking?

I really wanted to be like the chefs I admired in the industry. This was the hard part. But I later learnt to be my own person, and I have been able to create my own niche and made myself a brand in my own way. It is not bad to want to be like certain people. But I think the best approach is always to stand out as your own person.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

I’m not a fan of Brussels sprouts, white asparagus, elephant garlic, wine leaves, chic-peas and bulgur. They are never that inspiring, though they are essential for certain cuisines.

Carving knifes

What was the hardest chef-related things for you to learn? Or is something you just can’t get right?

What is your goal?

COOKING TIP:

While preparing Indian curry, never add garam masala to it while cooking. It should be sprinkled while serving.

Otherwise, the curry might turn out to be too bitter to swallow.

I hope to run my own chain of restaurants someday.

Please give us a cooking tip that people might not know?

Always invest 100 per cent in whatever you do in your life. Add a little element of deep passion and commitment, as well as dedication, love and affection for your work; and you will be on your way to greatness and success.

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

31

EXECUTIVE CHEF, Safari Park Hotel

CHEF PROFILE

CHEF Josephat

Karanja EXECUTIVE CHEF, Safari Park Hotel

A

t first contact, nothing springs into mind regarding the highly decorated Josephat Karanja, who is the Executive Chef at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi. His calm and humble demeanor is a thing of beauty.

He’s a welcoming and down-to-earth fellow who doesn’t appear to be the engine behind the fledging kitchen that has been the hallmark of Safari Park Hotel for years.

His story is even more outstanding. You’d expect that for him to run the Safari Park Hotel kitchen, he must be holding numerous degrees in Culinary Arts, but the humble chef has clawed his way up the ladder for years. In fact, how he ended up at Safari Park is more an act of destiny than it was an isolated case of luck.

Chef Karanja knew he wanted to work in the kitchen when he was still very young. Right after high school in 1991, he quickly made an application for

32

enrollment at the esteemed Utalii College on Thika Road. He tried his luck a few times but nothing seemed to give, and Utalii rejected him.

“I had made up my mind I wanted to be a hotel manager,” he says during the interview. “Getting into Utalii College would have given me the perfect opportunity to fulfill that dream. As it turned out, I couldn’t get in. I can never understand why they rejected my application, but I’m here today, as the Executive Chef at Safari Park Hotel.”

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

As we try to comprehend what happened, Karanja explains that shortly after his failure to get admission at Utalii College, fate would have it that one day, as he was seeking opportunities here and there, he stumbled upon an opening at Safari Park. A year had passed since he left high school. He was taken in to train on a casual basis as a waiter.

It was in 1992 when he joined Safari Park Hotel for this training. Two years later in 1994, he had done so well that he was recommended for formal training by the then Executive Chef Seedorf who wanted about six waiters in the kitchen.

“My training commenced immediately,” he says. “I was attached to the Chinese Kitchen which was coming up just then, and my guess is that the six of us were deployed there in order to grow the new

EastAfricachef.com

EXECUTIVE CHEF, Safari Park Hotel venture for the hotel. We did well under Chef Tang Wu Ching until 1997. By then, I had completely put my foot to the ground, and was part of the core team at Safari Park Hotel.”

It was then that an opening finally came at Utalii College for apprenticeship training in Food Production. Karanja decided to take his chances. He was admitted for the course, which would run four months each year for three years.

“By the time I was done with the course in 1999, I knew this was indeed the turning point I had been waiting for in my life,” he says. “It gave me the necessary impetus, platform and academic backup I needed to forge forward into my career. This training is what launched me officially into a career in the hot kitchen.”

During the three years in Utalii, Karanja had the privilege of getting trained at Serena Hotel for one month by the renowned Chef Osogo. The training was essential because it centered on the art of fine dining. This student empowerment programme was crucial to some of the successes he has had over the years.

Meanwhile, he was still stationed at Safari Park Hotel in spite of the training he was undergoing at Utalii College. He was at the time under the stewardship of German Chefs Axel and Meyer – Executive Chef and Assistant Chef respectively – who were his ever impressive trainers. But their stay had to come to an end, and they left towards

Issue 6

the turn of the millennium, and were replaced by a new chef called David Lancaster. During this time, Karanja had already begun work as a Chef De Partie.

“I’d say it’s Chef David Lancaster who saw the passion and the potential in me as a budding chef, and decided to help me grow,” Chef Karanja says. “He opted, out of his discretion, to promote me from Chef De Partie to Sous Chef.”

By the time Chef Lancaster was leaving for assignments elsewhere, he had promoted Karanja to the level of Senior Sous Chef. A new chef came in by the name Benard Yego, with whom they worked for eight years. At the end of his tenure, the door finally opened for Karanja who was promoted by the Board of Directors to the Executive Chef’s position.

And so the work began. In the beginning, it was tough indeed. There were people to manage, and the workload was equally a gigantic task. Chef Karanja realized he was in charge of a diversity of people; some young and others much older than he was, yet he had to lead by example and ensure they were successful together. Beyond that, balancing the position of an Executive Chef and being a father was the hardest he had to deal with. He didn’t have sufficient time to be with his family. But over time, he has managed to fix that.

Safari Park Hotel has the largest Banqueting Facility in East Africa, and boasts of around 72 permanent chefs and 30 others on contract, all of whom

are under Karanja. The Hotel also boasts of seven commercial kitchens around the country, as well as the following facilities; nn A Central Cafeteria [the largest] at the United Nations offices in Gigiri nn Café Safaris at KICC, which was incidentally opened by Chef Karanja nn Mango Plus Coffee Shop at the JKIA nn Koreana Chicken Restaurant at Garden City Chef Karanja has to manage all the kitchens alongside these facilities, by ensuring the purchases and requisitions are properly handled, and the business streams in these facilities remain profitable.

“Our greatest challenge has been the need to get the right human resource for the job, and we continue to work hard to ensure this area is handled,” he says. “But I’m glad that there have been many people who have been trained at different facilities of the Safari Park Hotel. I’m particularly thankful for all those who went through my hands and are now successful in the marketplace. A majority of hotel industry practitioners in Kenya have gone through Safari Park, something which is truly humbling and refreshing for this institution.”

In order to address issues of human resource capacity, Chef Karanja has constantly conducted trainings for staff to equip them better, coupled with staff rewards and recognition.

Through headhunting too, Safari Park has been able to get the best people in the business to keep the wheels rolling.

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

33

EXECUTIVE CHEF, Safari Park Hotel

Cooking food at the right time and using the right method is also observed all the time to ensure no food goes bad.

Cooking temperatures must be observed, and all the crockery and cutlery used are sterilized properly. There has never been any room for compromise. That is the rule.

Every month, the good performers at Safari Park are recognized and awarded.

Chef Karanja has ensured this program is sustained.

“Having worked for all these years at Safari Park Hotel, I’d say there are great chances of growth career-wise in this institution,” he says. “And it terms of training, there’s a robust program that involves going to various facilities around the world for ultimate training from some of the world’s best chefs and trainers. And once an individual has been trained and equipped, the hotel keeps growing.”

Are there prominent people Chef Karanja has served from his kitchen? For sure, he has served many dignitaries from around the world including presidents, prime ministers and senior government officials, a feat he’s so humbled to have pulled.

“I have had the privilege of serving all our presidents except for the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta,” he says. “Over and above that, we have done scheduled state banquets. We have been the official State House caterers for seven years, doing it consistently for all events the State House organizes.”

His most difficult encounter occurred

34

one day on a scheduled catering mission to Kulalu Galana. President Uhuru Kenyatta was attending to an official government project function in the area. Chef Karanja had to travel for two days with his team in readiness with all the meals that would be served. Upon arrival, the President requested to be served a cup of tea, and it was a tough call. The team hadn’t set up yet.

“But we managed to fix him a cup of tea in spite of our unique situation at the moment,” Chef Karanja says. “He wouldn’t have known that we had just arrived and hadn’t set up yet. In most instances, set-up takes roughly thirty minutes on the minimum. This was a difficult call to make, but we did it anyway.”

At Safari Park Hotel, Chef Karanja has ensured the processes of securing food are observed strictly. It all boils down to ensuring supplies are properly ordered for, inspections are done at the point of receiving the same, and the food is then stored in the right way in readiness for preparation. Every aspect of the process is observed to the letter to ensure there is never a case of food contamination at Safari Park Hotel. Chef Karanja prides himself in the fact that his team has ensured this is adhered to strictly.

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

Chef Karanja prides himself in the fact that revenues have steadily grown over the years since he joined the prestigious hotel. He has also been able to nurture many students during his tenure, and that’s something he’s very passionate about. Almost all hospitality facilities in the country have someone who may have passed through Safari Park Hotel for training, and most importantly, they may have gone through Chef Karanja’s hands. He is a well-known player in the industry today.

His hopes is that he will retire at Safari Park Hotel, after which he would love to try his hand in dairy farming. He’d love to consider it on a commercial or agribusiness basis.

“The truth is, it’s very hard for a chef to retire,” he says as we come to the end of the interview. “It’s all about passion and serving people, that’s why you never seem to want to stop. You just don’t know when to do so.”

His greatest motivation still remains Chef David Lancaster who discovered and nurtured the potential in him. But he is always grateful for the support and inspiration he gets from his family, who have walked with him through this entire journey, always supporting him even when it didn’t seem right to do so.

“And that is why I love cooking for my family,” he says. “They have given me every reason to be alive and to keep turning this wheel.”

On Covid-19, he says, eventually things will get back to some level or normalcy.

He challenges everyone in the industry to be optimistic and positive. Covid-19 will surely be gone someday.

EastAfricachef.com

THINK BIGGER | THINK REGIONAL

2021

NAIROBI KENYA

Showcasing the very best suppliers in the bakery and pastry industry in East Africa www.eastafricabakery.com

PAPYRUS AFRICA LIMITED | P.O. Bo Call: +254 799 74 74 74 | Email: info@pap

ox 42134-00100 GPO | Nairobi, Kenya. pyrus.co.ke | Website: www.papyrus.co.ke

CHEF

PROFILE CHEF PROFILE

CHEF Sumesh

Sharda Executive Chef, Mada Hotels East Africa Did you go to culinary school? If so, where?

Yes I did my Hotel Management course at the SAMS Institute of Hotel Management, Varanasi, India.

What restaurants have you worked at?

I have worked for various international hotels i.e. Starwood, Marriott, Ramada, Carlson, Taj, Carnival cruise lines Miami, Lebua & now Mada Hotels East Africa.

What was your first job in food?

My very first job in the culinary arts was commie 3 with Le Meridien (Starwood hotels).

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a biotech engineer but did not succeed to join Biotech College. I was eventually forced to go to a hospitality college. I can now proudly say it was the right decision taken then to help me. I will always owe my father a great deal for what he did to ensure I went to hospitality college.

What’s your favorite thing about being a chef?

I like the rush hour in the kitchen. When I have many orders on my kitchen counter and my cuisiners are delivering the food to our guests in the right way, it is truly gratifying even though it is quite a

38

challenging activity. The most gratifying thing of all is the feedback I get from satisfied clients. I often share with my team members any good feedback to motivate them to keep doing it right all the time.

Best advice you ever got?

The advice I got from my father to join a hospitality college was the best ever in my life. I’m sure he did so after realizing

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

I had certain exceptional talents and potential to become a great chef. I actually used to make very good food for my mother, as well as my grandmother, from a very tender age. I’m sure my dad must have paid a keen eye to the same, the more reason he opted to direct me towards the commercial kitchen.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?

EastAfricachef.com

CHEF PROFILE

Roasted red ants. The taste was simply great, but the fact that I had to eat it for the first time ever was truly strange and confusing.

with a huge sense of joy and of course, adrenaline! It was the funniest birthday I ever celebrated.

What’s your favorite ingredient?

Who would you like to meet and cook for?

You can’t survive in the kitchen without ingredients but basil and thyme are my favorite

I really wanted to meet and cook for Indian Prime minister Mr. Narendra Modi.

I hope one day it does happen.

What’s your favorite tool in the kitchen?

What was the hardest chef-related ‘thing’ for you to learn? Or is there something you just can’t get right?

I can’t survive without my knives and vegetables scoopers

What do you do when you’re not cooking?

I love nature’s photography, reading books, watching movies and internet surfing.

What would you like to do before you get too old to do it?

I am happy working as a chef at the moment, but in the future, I’d want to open a Hungers Café for people who are less privileged and cannot put food on their table. I’d be glad to see them have food that is either free or completely affordable to them at the least.

How do you deal with the kitchen stress?

The best way to handle stress is to get organized all the time. I ensure the mood and the environment is conducive for all my colleagues as we seek to handle pressure during peak hours. I never forget to turn on the music after leaving the office, and it sure does soothe me and calm the nerves.

Tell us a funny story from the kitchen.

There are lots of funny stories in the kitchen I have seen but let me tell the most memorable one I can recall. Kitchen colleagues always celebrate birthdays in very unique ways; pouring water and breaking eggs are common. But on one occasion during one of my birthdays, my colleagues made a solution of water, soy, oil, vinegar and chili paste, and poured it all over my body. It was shocking at first but I managed to absorb it all, Issue 6

Learning is a continuous process. We learn from all available platforms. We also learn from other people. We can learn from juniors and seniors in the work place alike. The secret is to always keep learning, and you’d be able to handle even the hardest tasks of all. To date though, the hardest task I had to face was ice carving. I’m glad it never really affected my work though. For some reason, I’m always comfortable not speaking about it so much.

Is there some little something you do for your family to make up for the time you’re not with them?

When I am not at home I share some interesting recipes with my family members through call or on video conferencing, and they always enjoy my recipes and cooking tips

Bahamas Island, Nassau, Thailand, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda

What is your goal? Own a restaurant if you don’t have one? Something else?

My goal will remain to continue working as a chef for a good international brand like the one I’m handling right now. Mada Hotels has been an amazing experience and I cherish every single part of this journey. May be in future I will try organic vegetables farming and fish farming.

Please give us a cooking tip that people might not know, for example “adding a little bit of oil to butter so it doesn’t burn.”

We prepare bacon every morning, and normally the bacon’s fat is often discarded. I’d say it would be great to put it to use by preparing [using the bacon fat] fried eggs, cooked potatoes, minestrone soup, and even marinate your meat in it.

Another tips is this: never throw the rind of parmesan cheese! Mix cheese rind with olive oil and keep the mixture in a cold room for 24 hours to get flavored olive oil, which you can then use to dress your salad

How did becoming a chef change your life or your direction?

I always love to see different people and places around the globe. Believe me, it has been possible due to my career as a chef. I have visited many countries like USA, Mexico, Jamaica, Dominica,

COOKING TIP:

Freeze meat to make it easier to slice for stir-fries and stews.

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

39

COVID19

How restaurants are handling social distancing

BY CHEF MAGAZINE TEAM

I

n March of 2020, the world virtually changed overnight when COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic. People have been encouraged to isolate in their homes, practice social distancing, and wash hands regularly to slow the spread.

And just as fast as people took to these recommendations and started isolating, the restaurant industry felt the hit to their bottom line.

With people opting for more time athome to help slow the spread, dining out was the first luxury people axed from their schedules – whether by their own choice or through government mandated shut downs of dining rooms.

Restaurants owners have had to find ways to help slow the spread while taking care of their teams and their businesses. But what does that look like across Kenya?

40

Let’s look at where the industry sits as restaurateurs have to shift daily to cope with something they have never seen before, and what business owners are doing to best handle it.

A Look at the Industry Now It seems like overnight, COVID-19 turned restaurants into ghost houses. Seats are stacke, and traffic to businesses – in every industry – is declining every day.

And numbers are already coming out that show how steep this drop has been.

What’s hard is that things can change on a dime – and they are. Government officials are meeting on a daily basis and

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

announcing new rules and regulations constantly. Quite literally, it’s impossible to predict where the industry will sit tomorrow. So, how are owners dealing today?

How Restaurants Are Dealing with Social Distancing During COVID-19 It’s easy to get caught up in the bad with so much news out there. But there are glimmers of hope out there – restaurateurs have found ways to continue to serve their guests, despite the craziness going on around them.

Here are some of the top ways that restaurant owners are dealing with social distancing and COVID-19 right now – though some of these methods are susceptible to change as the rules evolve.

With that in mind, please remember to check your goverment rules before EastAfricachef.com

COVID19

diving into any plans you have to tackle COVID-19 at your restaurant. Things are changing on the daily, so arming yourself with knowledge before any big decisions is critical – and important in ensuring you’re in line with any legal regulations or laws.

Staying Informed As mentioned above, the first – and arguably most important – thing restaurateurs are doing to cope with these uncertain times is staying informed.

All the information out there can be a lot to take in, but knowing what’s happening is key to making the right decisions. It’s also important to stay informed to ensure you’re abiding by the changing laws and following government recommendations.

Taking Care of Their Teams It’s a scary time for everybody, but there’s an extra level of responsibility that’s been thrust on business owners.

Issue 6

Staff are – naturally – looking to managers and owners for answers and guidance in such uncertainty.

And restaurants are stepping up in big ways to take care of their teams and ensure they feel secure.

One way restaurant owners are doing this is by doing what they can to support employees survive low or no pay due to slow business or temporarily closed doors.

And while there is no expectation for business owners to pay out their staff on full pay (for many owners, they can’t financially afford to do so), it’s more about what you can do to care for your team. It’s all about showing support in a way that works for you – even the small things will go a long way in showing your staff that you’re on their side.

Half Capacity at Restaurants In efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 and encourage social distancing,

restaurants across the country have been restricting their capacity to 50%.

This essentially means that restaurants would only be seating 50% of their full capacity – or less – at any given time, to ensure there is more space between diners and hopefully slow the spread of coronavirus.

This idea of half capacity is in line with recommendations to avoid crowds. Other businesses have been mirroring this idea in different ways.

Offering Takeout & Delivery Service Exclusively As we mentioned previously, takeout and delivery offerings have taken over during COVID-19, with potential growth in Kenya.

Certain brands are completely shut down sitting areas, making takeout or drive-thru the only option, while smaller businesses rely heavily on their delivery services to make up for lost business.

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

41

COVID19

On a positive note, delivery services are also stepping up to support businesses as more of their operations may shift to takeout and delivery.

Temporarily Shutting Doors Even with so many measures in place to avoid reaching this point, some restaurants are either choosing or being forced to temporarily shut their doors.

If you end up having to temporarily shut your doors, here are some areas you’ll want to check in with as soon as possible to minimize the financial hit: LANDLORDS: Talk with your landlord about your lease payments. People have shared online their experiences with this – some landlords are receptive to working out a future payment plan while others aren’t there yet. Either way, you’ll never know how your landlord may be willing to help unless you ask!

FOOD SUPPLIERS: If you have regular food supplies coming in, you’ll want to get in contact with your suppliers as

42

soon as possible to put a hold on orders and avoid invoices for supplies you won’t be able to use anytime soon.

POS: Depending on your payment plan and provider, it’s worth reaching out to see if there is any flexibility on subscription, software, or technology fees.

Beyond finding ways to save, you’ll also want to check on government support available to help keep your business afloat during these uncertain times.

Clear Communication with Guests Whatever restaurants have decided to do, most are making sure to communicate clearly with their guests and their teams – whether they switch to half capacity, offering delivery, or completely closing their operations for now.

And clear communication is especially important during these times. Whether that’s over email, website updates, or posting on social media, let people know

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

what’s going on. People don’t want to leave their homes to find out you’re completely closed down. Communicating your offers during this time helps everybody involved.

No matter what direction you’re taking with your restaurant, come up with a communication plan for staying in touch with your guests throughout this time.

So What Comes Next?

Unfortunately, there’s no clear timeline for when COVID-19 and social distancing will come to an end.

While it is everybody’s responsibility to come together (ironically by staying apart) and slow the spread of this virus, restaurants have a huge part to play.

You’re facing circumstances that have never happened before and are forced to adapt – every day.

In the meantime, stay informed, stay safe, and let us know how we can help.

EastAfricachef.com

IN STEP WITH THE CHANGING TRENDS

PARTNERING TO BEAT COVID-19 ®

TOP PROVIDERS OF HOUSEKEEPING SOLUTIONS

TO ADVERTISE OR EXHIBIT, PLEASE CONTACT JENNY: 0704 052 333 / 0777333368 | FLORAH 0722 723 812 | expo@clean.co.ke

COVID19

COVID19

Keeping your kitchen safe during covid-19

C

OVID-19 has made every trip to the grocery store or takeout order a test of infectious-disease expertise. Even after people get food into their home, where social distancing is no longer a concern, more challenges await. Everyday actions in the kitchen — stocking the pantry, washing produce, preparing meals — all involve opportunities to transmit the novel coronavirus.

The virus’s primary mode of transmission is person to person. Health experts from around the world have all said they have seen no evidence of foodborne transmission. But to avoid bringing the novel coronavirus home from the store or sickening a family member or roommate, home cooks can break the chain of transmission by following simple kitchen-safety practices.

Health authorities have stuck by the “4 Steps of Food Safety” for decades: Clean [wash your hands, utensils, and surfaces often]; separate [separate raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs from other groceries]; cook [to safe temperatures]; and chill [refrigerate or freeze leftovers within two hours]. Those

44

rules still hold up during the COVID-19 pandemic, just with a few added steps and specifications.

Washing Your Hands Often Preparing a clean kitchen begins the moment you arrive home from a trip to the store or receive a delivery of groceries. Bring the bags in, then immediately wash your hands. If you don’t regularly use hand sanitizer in your car after visiting the store, you may even want to go inside to wash your hands before returning to your car to unload grocery bags.

Unless you’ve inhaled coronavirus and you’re bringing it into your house that way, probably the next most likely way that you’re bringing coronavirus into your

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

house is on your hands from something you’ve touched. A good rule of thumb is to wash your hands every time you change tasks or you transition between areas. So coming into your house, that’s a transition. Putting away groceries, that’s a transition.

Follow health officials’ guidelines on hand washing, and be sure to wash when you enter the house; after handling any potentially contaminated items; before, during, and after preparing food; before eating; and when you clean the kitchen.

Unpacking and Storing Dismantling groceries can feel like a high-pressure situation, but the basic steps are fairly straightforward. If you can, place grocery bags on the floor rather than the counter. Put away groceries as you normally would, starting with refrigerated items. End by washing your hands and sanitizing the entire area, especially countertops that you used in the process.

EastAfricachef.com

COVID19 It is also suggested that you should wash reusable cloth bags in the laundry in hot water after unpacking. Disposable bags should be thrown away or wiped down with alcohol wipes. These bags are not safe to ignore as the virus can likely survive on them for several days..

While not all experts think it is entirely necessary to concentrate on shopping bags, none specifically objected to the practice, so go ahead and clean them if you are concerned.

Health experts also cite evidence that the novel coronavirus can survive on cardboard for 24 hours and on plastic for 72 hours, so it’s conceivable that a sick shopper or worker at the grocery store could leave the virus on a food package that you could then bring home.

Everyone should therefore sanitize the outside of all food packaging before storing it.

People may break common rules of food safety while trying to follow the two-step sanitization process. Not only is it overkill, it’s likely to have negative effects. The greatest concern is that people will forget to wash their hands between each task, potentially crosscontaminating between items like raw meat and produce. The process may also delay them from refrigerating items, breaking the cold chain, or people may accidentally get sanitizer in their food.

with multiple products. The whole idea of two sanitizers are better than one?

Not true. If you mix two chemicals that are not meant to be together, bad things happen. You can produce gases. You can get burns on your skin. There are dangers with these things.

Washing Produce Loose produce might be handled by countless people in the grocery store before you get it home, so it’s important to wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly — just as it always has been.

Water creates friction to remove bacteria from the surface. After washing items in running water, she suggests drying them with a paper towel to increase that friction even more. Be cautious about dishcloths, sponges, and vegetable scrubbers on produce, which can crosscontaminate between items if you’re not careful. Just swap out dishcloths and sponges every two hours [if you can’t remember how long it’s been, err on the side of caution by replacing it], and switching vegetable scrubbers between tasks.

Most experts agree you shouldn’t wash produce in soapy water. While soap is excellent at breaking down the virus’ defenses, it is not designed for use on food. If you ingest soap it could cause

Cleaning Up You should routinely scrub down kitchen surfaces like counters, the refrigerator, and the sink after putting away groceries, before and after cooking, and at the end of the day. Be sure to use fresh cutting boards, clean dishes in a dishwasher if you can, and give your dining table a once-over before sitting down to a meal.

Health officials suggest a two-step process: cleaning to remove germs and dirt, then disinfecting to kill remaining germs. When you scrub with soap, The surfactants in soaps break through the lipid layer of the virus. You could follow that with alcohol wipes that are at least 60 percent alcohol.

Be sure to follow instructions on cleaning products and don’t experiment Issue 6

Most experts agree you shouldn’t wash produce in soapy water. While soap is excellent at breaking down the virus’ defenses, it is not designed for use on food.

nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea Cleaning products could cause even more damage if ingested.

Also, avoid washing items ahead of time and putting them back in the fridge. Any time you add water to the situation that can contribute to pathogen growth. It’s recommended that you not wash fruits and vegetables until you’re ready to consume them.

Preparing a Meal When preparing food, be sure to follow standard health guidelines to the letter.

Regular food safety — like proper cooking temperatures or sanitation while handling raw meat — is even more important during a pandemic, since a trip to the hospital because of E. coli or salmonella could expose you to COVID-19 too.

It may be tempting to suit up with disposable gloves or a mask before cooking, but that may do more damage than good.

As long as you follow hand washing and sanitizing routines, food itself is not a threat. There are some properties of the organism that make it very, very unlikely to impossible that it’s transmitted by food. The novel coronavirus is an “enveloped” virus, meaning it’s surrounded by a lipid-fat layer, which is easily broken down by stomach acid and bile salts during digestion.

All of the viruses we know that are foodborne illnesses are non-enveloped.

They have a protein layer that is a lot hardier so they’re much more protected through those [digestive] environments.

Given that the novel coronavirus isn’t foodborne and risk can be managed by constant hand washing and disinfecting, the best way to ensure you cook safely for yourself and your family may be to stop stressing so much about every little thing. If you try to pay attention to too many things, we don’t pay attention to the essential things. The basics — social distancing, wash your hands, minimize how often you touch your face — that’s the important stuff.

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

45

COVID19

COVID19

Food Safety Tips for Your Restaurant During COVID-19

By CORRESPONDENT

Y

our restaurant was likely humming with energy and serving a full house on Valentine’s Day – which wasn’t all that long ago. Food safety was part of your practice, but maybe not the number one thing on your mind. Not like now.

Fast forward a few weeks and restaurateurs worldwide have been forced to adapt to the necessary social distancing practices. This unprecedented situation has many people – rightfully – concerned for their health and unsure of whether it’s truly safe to order food from the neighborhood restaurant that they’d otherwise love to support.

Why Safe Food Handling Is Crucial to Help Prevent COVID-19 All restaurateurs have an obligation to protect public health by following proper food safety standards in the best of times and obtaining a food service

46

license and food handler’s permit, among other credentials. During the COVID-19 pandemic, that responsibility has become even greater.

Thankfully, there is currently no evidence of COVID-19 transmission via food or food packaging. However, the coronavirus may be able to survive on objects or surfaces, which is one of several reasons why it’s essential to ensure that your restaurant – and your food – is safe for your guests and employees.

Your guests are the heartbeat of your business, and the good news is that they want to support you through this

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

challenging time of social distancing.

By communicating your food safety practices clearly and often, you’ll make it easier for your guests to feel confident ordering meals from you.

In addition to reassuring your guests that you’re going above and beyond to protect them, you must also ensure that your staff feel safe coming into work.

Your team needs to know they can rely on you to prioritize their health and steward them through this crisis.

There’s no doubt that doubling down on food safety helps limit the spread of illness. But, it also makes social distancing a little less difficult for your community when they can still look forward to enjoying takeout from their favourite restaurants.

EastAfricachef.com

COVID19

7 Food Safety Tips Your Restaurant Should Implement Now HOW TO WASH YOUR HANDS

MAKE HANDWASHING MANDATORY Forget simply encouraging extra handwashing. Now is the time to make handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds mandatory in various situations, including: nn When staff arrive at your restaurant nn

Between each order they prepare

nn

After touching shared surfaces

nn

After a meal or a smoke break

nn

After bathroom breaks

nn

After handling money

nn

After cleaning the restaurant

nn

When they leave for the day

Stock your restaurant’s handwashing stations with soap and towels, and ensure that hand sanitizer with at least 70% alcohol is available in multiple spots around the front and back of house. Put posters up with handwashing information and remind staff verbally each day that you expect everyone to ramp up their handwashing efforts to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

PROTECT YOURSELF AND OTHERS AGAINST INFECTIONS

2

1

Apply soap

Wet hands

5

3

6

9

7

10

Rinse hands

8

Clean thumbs

11

Dry with a single use towel

Lather the back of both hands

Rub hands palm to palm

Rub the back of fingers on the opposing palm

Scrub between your fingers

4

Use the towel to turn off the faucet

Wash fingernails and fingertips

12

Your hands are clean

LIMIT FOOD HANDLING Personal hygiene is imperative when it comes to protecting against the coronavirus, but you can take measures a step further by limiting the number of people who handle food and food packaging in your restaurant.

You may need to rethink the flow of your kitchen line if possible to have fewer staff involved in meal prep, as long as you continue to handle raw and cooked food separately.

Ensure that your employees who are handling food are well versed in food safety tips and procedures. This might be the time to revisit what was learned when your backof-house staff got their food handlers permit, which included personal hygiene, sanitation, food safety, allergens, and food temperature.

Issue 6

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

47

COVID19

CLEAN – AND THEN CLEAN AGAIN Before, during, and after shifts, now is the time to up your cleaning game. Exactly how long the coronavirus can survive on surfaces hasn’t yet been confirmed, so be diligent in frequently wiping down counters and cleaning cookware, tableware, utensils, and high-contact surfaces like door handles.

Equip Drivers with Information and Protection Restaurateurs can take several steps to protect their delivery drivers from exposure to the coronavirus, starting by outlining delivery instructions at the point when a customer places their order online or over the phone.

Many restaurants have begun doing contactless drop-offs to comply with social distancing.

Through contactless drop-off, the customer pays in advance and the driver leaves the package of food outside the door so that two parties don’t interact.

If you choose not to add your own online ordering system and delivery fleet, and instead work with a thirdparty delivery app with a delivery app like Uber Eats, Jumia Food, or Glovo they likely have already implemented these precautions.

Research what measures they’re taking so you can relay these to customers as well.

48

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

If you’re working with your own fleet, provide your delivery drivers with hand sanitizer and gloves to further protect them from COVID-19. Inform your drivers that if they do receive cash tips, they should wash or sanitize their hands immediately afterward. Drivers should also ask customers to use their own pen to sign any receipts, instead of lending them a pen.

Or, opt for contactless payments like made over the phone with cardnot-present transactions, through your website, or with a tap-enabled payment terminal or mobile money like mpesa.

EastAfricachef.com

COVID19

Handle Packages Properly

Be Smart with Suppliers

You and your restaurant staff will inevitably have to touch some food packages to fulfill orders, and you’ll have to work together to do so safely. Adhere to social distancing by avoiding passing packages to one another. Instead, set the item down on a table, then walk away so the other person can pick it up safely.

It’s important to protect your suppliers, as well as your guests and employees. You can use the same contactless drop-off method with suppliers that you do with delivery customers.

Again, limit the number of people handling these items.

As much as it may pain you from an environmental standpoint to use items wrapped in plastic, you should remove any loose takeout cutlery or napkins from your restaurant.

These items all hold the potential for cross-contamination. Ask guests if they need these items – if many are eating from home, they might be fine to take their order without.

Issue 6

Times are tough right now, and we know you’re focused on your business, but don’t forget to take care of yourself too and try to keep your stress levels down. If you’re protecting your employees and customers by heeding food safety tips and keeping your restaurant spotless, you’re playing an important role in helping to slow the spread of COVID-19.

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

49

COVID19

Coronavirus Supplies Checklist for Restaurants

W

orkplace hygiene is critical to safely operating during a pandemic and gaining the public’s trust. Create a dining environment your customers are comfortable patronizing with our coronavirus supplies checklist, so you can safely and successfully reopen your restaurant.

Personal Hygiene Supplies Frequent handwashing with soap is the most effective way to prevent the coronavirus from spreading. However, workplace hygiene efforts alone will not safeguard your business from COVID-19. You need to make sure employees aren’t reporting for their shift with a fever.

Thermometers allow you to safely reopen and operate your restaurant.

To reduce the spread of the coronavirus employers need to take employees’ temperatures. “What temperature is considered a fever?”

Temperatures reading 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit and above are considered fevers in adults.

Here is a complete list of what you need in a pandemic to ensure the personal protection of your employees and customers:

Soap nn

Hand Sanitizer with an Alcohol Content of 70% or Greater

nn

Antiseptic Lotion

nn

Alcohol Wipes

nn

Infrared/Contactless Thermometers

Coronavirus PPE Supplies Personal protective equipment (PPE) is a classifying term for garments that protect against bodily injuries and infections. Traditional restaurant emergency supplies include PPE that shield employees and customers from falling debris and unbreathable air; whereas coronavirus PPE supplies upkeep the health of your staff by barricading their bodies from microdroplets containing COVID-19. Coronavirus PPE supplies include: nn

Face Masks

nn

Sterile Gloves

nn

Aprons

Face masks only remain effective when they are dry and haven’t been continually adjusted by the wearer.

You’ll need a facemask supply that accommodates replacement whenever the mask becomes moist.

50

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

At most restaurants, employees need to change their masks every four hours. However, you must honestly assess your work environment’s humidity and how often your employees are called upon to speak when determining the number of masks your restaurant requires.

EastAfricachef.com

COVID19

Restaurant Cleaning and Sanitizing Supplies In order to effectively clean and sanitize your business and prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advises that you use products with the following active ingredients: nn

Hydrogen Peroxide

nn

Sodium Hypochlorite

nn

Quaternary Ammonium

nn

Sodium Chlorite

Unsure about a cleaning product’s effectiveness in combating the coronavirus? The EPA has an interactive cleaning product lookup tool showing which cleaning products are effective against COVID-19.

Social Distancing Supplies Social distancing has become a buzzword, but what is social distancing really? The term social distancing is used to classify non-pharmaceutical intervention measures which prevent a contagious disease from spreading.

Social distancing employs physical distance to reduce the number of times people come into close contact with each other.

Knowing how to follow social distance guidelines allows you to reconfigure your dining room layout and waiting areas to accommodate reopening protocols.

Here are the supplies you will need to implement proper social distancing in your restaurant: Touchpoint Social Distancing Supplies: nn

Online Ordering Software

nn

Disposable Menus

nn

POS Systems

nn nn

Customer Social Distancing Supplies: nn

Social Distancing Signs

nn

Stanchion Posts and Ropes

nn

Floor Tape

nn

Social Distancing Floor Labels

nn

Partitions

nn

Caution Tape

nn

Chalk

Employee Social Distancing Supplies: nn

Walkie Talkies or Clickers to Count Guests In and Out

A Large Board for Displaying Your Menu

nn

Serving Trays for Contactless HandOff

Touchless Card Readers

nn

Cashier Shields

COMING UP! Issue 6

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

51

COVID19

Delivery Supplies

B

efore COVID-19, takeout was already a popular option amongst consumers. With the advent of the pandemic, the public has become wholly accustomed to ordering delivery. Establishments are likely to see an ongoing upsurge in consumer preference towards delivery services.

If you haven’t already established a solid delivery system, now is the time to consider whether hiring a third party delivery service is right for your business.

PROTECt YOURSELF & OTHERS 52

Even if your restaurant is no stranger to delivery, training your employees and optimizing your service to properly execute contactless delivery is essential to operating your restaurant in a pandemic. Here are all the supplies you need to offer delivery services during COVID-19: nn

Insulated Delivery Bags

nn

Takeout Containers

nn

Plastic Cutlery - Preferably Individually Wrapped

nn

Take-Out Bags

nn

Clipboards

nn

Condiment Portion Packs

nn

Car Phone Mount

nn

Flashlights

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

nn

Tamper-Evident Labels/Takeouts

nn

Pizza Boxes

nn

Umbrellas and Raincoats

nn

Phone Chargers

nn

Sanitizer Wipes for Inside the Delivery Car

nn

Outdoor Coolers

While the way you are supplying meals has shifted, your customers’ desire to avoid the hassle of cooking every meal themselves and experience your restaurant’s unique recipes hasn’t changed. Use our coronavirus restaurant supplies checklist to safely and effectively remain operable during a pandemic.

EastAfricachef.com

COVID19

FOOD STORAGE DURING COVID-19 FROZEN FOOD STORAGE FOOD FROZEN FOODFROZEN STORAGE

This guide has everything you about how to properly store f This gui so that you can cook more an about ho so that y

KEY

BUTTER

CHEESE

EGGS

MILK

YO

KEY

BUTTER

KEY CHEESE

BUTTER EGGS

CH MIL

6 TO 9 MONTHS

6 MONTHS

12 MONTHS

6 TO 9 MONTHS

6 TO 9 MONTHS 12 MONTHS

6 MONTHS

1

OOD STORAGE GE

M 36 TO

6 MONTHS 3 12 TOMONTHS 6 MONTHS

PRODUCE

ed, of izesalt, and e tray to

the same e, paste, if used added f freezing ows and down her use fresh

,breading es

Blanch 2-4 min, spread on a tray.

When portioned frozen, transfer Shredded, Portion into serving size Make into applesauce by into bags to bags and refreeze containers space for cooking andwith puréeing. liquid to expand Cool and portion Hard cheeses willinto be be the Taste and texture will bags or crumbly, soft cheeses will be same as containers when blanched Milk will have separated grainy into chunks and water, so Taste and texture will be Sautés, stir-fries, soups, shake well using the same asbefore before Pastas, soups, bakes, frittatas bakes freezing Creamy soups, oatmeal Baked goods, oatmeal

CAULIFLOWER BANANAS 6BERRIES TO 8 MONTHS CARROTS 8 MONTHS

S

NTHS S HS

NTHS S ONTHS HS

n, portion

10 TO 12BEANS MONTHS GREEN

6 TO 8 MONTHS

CORN BERRIES 6CARROTS TO 8 MONTHS 6 TO 8 MONTHS CELERY Remove kernels and blanch Spread on a tray. When 4 min. Spread on a tray. frozen,blanch transfer to bags and Chop, 2 min, portion When frozen, to Chop, blanch 3transfer min, portion refreeze into bags bags and refreeze into bags

Baked goods, smoothies, Sautés, stir-fries, soups, Sautés, stir-fries, Sautés, stir-fries, soups, soups, fruit soups stews, frittatas, bakes omelets bakes, stews, bakes

garlic stir-fries, soups, Sautés, bakes, frittatas, omelets

GRAPES 3 TO 5 MONTHS HERBS helping home cooks live happier, simpler, smarter in the kitchen 12 MONTHS

Taste Garlicand willtexture lose itswill be the same as whenbut blanched crunchiness, still have its strong flavor Sautés, stir-fries, soups, bakes, Use as frittatas you would use fresh garlic

Spread on a tray. When frozen, transfer to bags and Remove refreeze stems, chop, pack tightly into ice cube tray, and fill with water, oil,will or broth.

Taste and texture be the Once pop out of trays same frozen, as before freezing and store in bags or containers Eat frozen like a popsicle or Taste be the same as use inwill smoothies before freezing

Add to sautés, stir-fries, frittatas, omelets, bakes, soups, stews

Issue 6

6BAT BER

68 TM

Chop, blan into bags Chop or m Spread on into bags Taste and frozen, tra same as w refreeze Frozen ba brown stir Sautés, Berries wi stews, bak release liq Baked goo omelets smoothies Baked goo fruit soups

Soups, sautés Baked goods, oatmeal

GREEN BEANS

6 TO 8 MONTHS Blanch 3 min, portion into bags

GRAPES CARROTS 3CELERY TO 5 MONTHS 6GARLIC TO 8 MONTHS 6 10TO TO812MONTHS MONTHS

Spread on a tray. When Chop, blanch 2 min, portion frozen, transfer to bags and into bags Chop, blanch 3 min, portion refreeze Peeled or unpeeled into bags individual cloves. will Or peel, Taste and texture be the Taste texture will to be the chop, and and double bag same as when blanched Celery will lose its crispness same as before freezing prevent odors from escaping and turn soft Sautés, stir-fries, soups, Eat frozen popsicle or Garlic will like lose aits stews, bakes Sautés, stir-fries, soups, use in smoothies crunchiness, but still have its stews, bakes strong flavor Use as you would use fresh garlic

HERBS

GR

6 COT GR

T 36 TO

Blanch 3 m bags Remove ke Spread on 4 min. Spr Taste and frozen, tra When froz same as w refreeze bags and r

Sautés, stirt Taste and Taste and bakes,asfritt same be same as w

Eat frozen Sautés, stir use in smo bakes, fritt

12 cooks MONTHS helping home live happier, simpler, smarter in the kitchen

Taste and texture will be the same as when blanched

Remove stems, chop, pack tightly into ice cube tray, and fill with water, oil, or broth.

Once frozen, pop out of trays and store in bags or containers

Sautés, stir-fries, soups, bakes, frittatas

Taste will be the same as before freezing Add to sautés, stir-fries, frittatas, omelets, bakes, soups, stews

get more tips on how to cook on a budget, EASTTo AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

To get more tips on how to cook on a budget, visit cooksmarts.com/budget

BR

4 5 MONTHS 12TO MONTHS

Peeled or unpeeled Chop, blanch 3 min, portion individual cloves. Or peel, into bags Chop, blanch 3 min, chop, and double bagportion to Remove kernels and blanch into bagsodors from escaping prevent 4 min.

Spread on a tray.

Taste and texture will be the When frozen, transfer to same as when blanched Tasteand and texture Garlic willrefreeze lose its will be the bags same as when blanched crunchiness, but still have its Sautés, stir-fries, soups, strongand flavor Taste texture will be the stews, bakes, frittatas, Sautés, soups, same as stir-fries, when blanched omelets stews, bakes, frittatas Use as you would use fresh

Berries will get mushy and Taste and texture will be be the Taste and the Celery willtexture lose itswill crispness release same asliquid when blanched blanched same as when and turn soft

er in the kitchen

ps on how to cook on a budget, visit cooksmarts.com/budget

GARLIC BROCCOLI 10 TO 12 MONTHS 6CAULIFLOWER TO 8 MONTHS CORN TO88MONTHS MONTHS 66TO

6 TO TO 88 MONTHS MONTHS 6

Peeled or unpeeled individual cloves. Or peel, Blanch 3 min, portion into chop, and double bag to bags prevent odors from escaping

Creamy so

Spread on a tray. When frozen, to bags and Maketransfer into applesauce by Peel and mash puree with cooking andor puréeing. refreeze Cook and cool.

Chop and a bit of lemon juice Cool and portion into portion bags or into bags will or containers Berries get mushy and containers Surface liquid will turn brown release Taste and texture will be Taste and texture will be the the goods, same asbaked before Dips, Baked same spreads, as whensmoothies, cookedgoods freezing fruit soups

Baked goods, oatmeal, Baked oatmeal, Sautés,goods, stir-fries, soups, smoothies smoothies, dips, sauces bakes

Baked goods, oatmeal

helping home cooks live GARLIC happier, simpler, smarter in the kitchen

1

BERRIES 6 TO APPLES 8 MONTHS AVOCADOS BEETS 12 MONTHS

Cook and cool. Chop and portion into serving bags or size Portion Blanch 2-4 with min, space spreadtoon a containers Chop or mash, and portion tray. When frozen, transfer expand into bags to bags and refreeze Taste and texture will be the Thicker yogurt will same asbananas when cooked Frozen will turn Taste andinto texture willand be the separate chunks brown same as when water, so whiskblanched together Soups, sautés

freezing Creamy soups, oatmeal

Chop, blanch 3 min, portion Cook and cool. Chop and into bags portion into bags or portion Chop, blanch 3 min, Chop, blanch 3 min, portion containers into bags Celery will lose its crispness into bags and turn Taste andsoft texture will will be be the the Taste and texture Taste and texture will be the same as as when when cooked same blanched Sautés, soups, same asstir-fries, when blanched stews, Soups,bakes sautés Sautés, stir-fries, soups, Sautés, stir-fries, soups, stews, bakes, frittatas, stews, bakes, frittatas omelets

Remove kernels and blanch 4 min. Spread on a tray. dinto Spread on a chop, tray.

When Remove stems, packto When frozen, transfer Or peel, frozen, transfer bags and bags and refreeze tightly into ice cubeto tray, and crispness bag to refreeze fill with water, oil, or broth. m escaping Once frozen, out will of trays Taste and pop texture be the be the Taste and texture will be the andsame store as in when bags orblanched containers ed oups, same as before freezing till have its Taste Sautés, stir-fries, soups, will be the same as ps, Eat freezing frozen like aomelets popsicle or bakes, frittatas, before use in smoothies use fresh Add to sautés, stir-fries, frittatas,

omelets, bakes, soups, stews

Chop or mash, and portion into bagsinto serving size Portion Make into applesauce by containers with for Peel and mash orspace puree with cooking and puréeing. liquid expand Frozen bananas will turn a bit ofto lemon juice Cool and portion into brown bags containers Milk willor have separated Surface will turn brown into chunks water, so Baked goods,and oatmeal, Taste and texture will be shake well before using smoothies Dips, goods thespreads, same asbaked before

66 TO TO 88 MONTHS MONTHS

Chop, blanch 3 min, portion puree with Chop or mash, and portion into bags e into bags op and Spread on 2a min, tray. portion When ortion Chop, blanch or frozen, transfer to bags and into bags Taste and texture will be the brown Frozen bananas will turn refreeze same as when blanched brown be the Taste and texture will be the ed willgoods be the same Berries willblanched get mushy and ed as when Sautés, stir-fries, soups, Baked goods, ked release liquidoatmeal, stews, bakes, smoothies frittatas ps, Sautés, stir-fries, soups, Baked goods, smoothies, , stews, bakes fruit soups

CORN 6 TO 8 MONTHS GRAPES HERBS 3 TO 5 MONTHS 12 MONTHS

1 TO 2 MONTHS 8 TO 10 MONTHS

Peel and mash or puree with aBeat bit of lemon juiceof salt, and with a pinch Portion into serving size pour into cube tray Blanch 2-4ice min, spread on a containers to Surface willwith turnspace brown tray. When frozen, transfer expand Yolks getand thick like paste, to bags refreeze which is why salt added Dips, spreads, baked goods Thicker yogurt will before freezing slows down Taste and texture will be the separate into chunks and the thickening same as when blanched water, so whisk together Frittatas, omelets, breading Sautés, stir-fries, soups, Baked oatmeal, veggiesgoods, or meats bakes smoothies, dips, sauces

CELERY BEETS 6BROCCOLI TO 8 MONTHS 12 MONTHS CAULIFLOWER

6 8TOMONTHS 8 MONTHS 6 TO

BEETS YOGURT 12 MONTHS ASPARAGUS 1BANANAS TO 2 MONTHS TO 10 MONTHS 88 MONTHS

8MILK MONTHS APPLES AVOCADOS 3 TO 6 MONTHS 12 MONTHS 4 TO 5 MONTHS

Portion in containers Shredded, expand Portion int into bags containers Thicker liquid toyo ex Hard chee separate in crumbly, sw water, so h Milk will grainy into chunk Bakedwell goo shake Pastas, sou smoothies

PRODUCE

NTHS SS

PRODUCE BANANAS

AVOCADOS EGGS 4YOGURT TO 5 MONTHS ASPARAGUS 12 MONTHS

PRODUCE

ASPARAGUS 8CHEESE TO 10 MONTHS MILK APPLES

Beat with a pinch of salt, and pour into ice cube tray

DAIRY

DAIRY

DAIRY DAIRY

1

Shredded, portioned into bags

1 TO

Portion into serving size containers with space for Wholeto orexpand portioned, liquid Shredded, FREEZE portioned Whole or portioned, Beat with a pinch of salt, and wrapped tightly FREEZEthe same Taste and texture Hard cheeses will be Yolks get thick like paste, into bags wrapped tightly pour into ice cube tray as before freezing, if used crumbly, soft cheeses will be which is why salt added Milk will have separated THAWED Tastechunks and texture the same within 6 months of freezing grainy before freezing slows into and water, Hard cheeses will be down Taste and texture the same Yolks get thick like paste,so as before freezing, if used the thickening shake well before using crumbly, soft cheeses will be as before freezing, if used which is why salt added This guide has everything you need to know THAWED within 6 months of freezing to know This guide has everything Use as you youTHAWED would use to fresh bakes, frittatas need knowPastas, grainy within soups, 6 months of freezing before freezing slows down butter Frittatas, omelets, breading Creamy soups, oatmeal the thickening about how to properlyveggies storeorfood in your freezer, your freezer, about how to properly store food in your freezer, Use as you would use fresh meats USE IN Pastas, soups, bakes, frittatas Use as you would use fresh butter so that you can cook more and save more. Frittatas, omelets, breading more. so that you can cook more and save more. butter USE IN veggies or meats USE IN

FREEZE

Whole or portioned, wrapped tightly

3 TO 6 MONTHS

53 visit cooksmarts.com/budget

To get

CHEF OPPORTUNITIES

54

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

EastAfricachef.com

CHEF OPPORTUNITIES

Doing Business as a

Personal Chef C

ulinary history has not officially recorded when the first personal chef opened his doors for business. Was it hundreds of years ago, when a talented chef cooked for several affluent families, traveling from one estate to another? Or was the first personal chef someone who cooked for a friend’s family that had fallen on hard times and needed help with the day-to-day chores of the household? History provides us with clues, but determining when the personal chef profession emerged is open to discussion.

personal level—it’s more than just taste.

A personal chef is a chef for hire who provides a range of services and products to customers. Some personal chefs cook in four or five homes per week, leaving behind multiple customized meals that meet the taste and nutritional profiles of their clients. Others specialize in preparing menu items for dinner parties, catering events, or even teaching culinary classes.

The enjoyment and satisfaction that come from being one’s own boss.

However, as you will learn for yourself as you go into the business world, selfemployment is not for everyone!

No matter which avenue they choose, personal chefs constantly strive to customize the food they prepare to meet the needs of their clients. The business of being a personal chef is based on providing the utmost in quality of service and cuisine.

Small business owners Personal chefs operate with all the Issue 6

advantages and responsibilities that small business owners have. They plan, market, promote, pay bills, produce food, and do what they can to develop their business. Personal chefs come from all backgrounds. Some begin their career in this business with limited formal culinary training, while others have years of industry cooking experience. Still others are second-career culinary school graduates and cooks.

As we interviewed successful personal chefs around the country so we could include their stories from the field, it became abundantly clear that they all share three common traits: The love of cooking and serving great food. Personal chefs understand what good food can mean to their clients on a

The desire to service their clients’ needs, even if a client isn’t entirely sure what his needs are. Personal chefs help their clients determine what their needs areas they develop partnerships with those clients. This might be called the hospitality spirit of service.

Difference between the two While there are many similarities between personal chefs and private chefs, it’s important that we distinguish between these two culinary professions.

A private chef is one who is employed by a specific person or organization exclusively. She earns a paycheck and is responsible for providing her culinary services to one person or group. She works scheduled hours, cooks menus to satisfy the needs of her employer, whether a family or an organization.

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

55

CHEF OPPORTUNITIES

As pointed out previously, a personal chef is a chef for hire who works for herself as a small business operator.

There is no exclusivity agreement involved, and she can choose the number of clients with whom she will associate and for whom she will prepare customized menus.

As the profession began to gain popularity among culinarians and the attention of the media, many critics called personal chefs a fad profession that would be around only as long as it was fashionable. However, over time, this supposed fad became a trend and gave chefs and cooks around the world the opportunity to work with food on their own terms. The personal chef trend has become a legitimate career path in the culinary industry and a viable alternative career for culinarians looking to leave traditional cooking situations.

So, you’re a chef who’s tired of the long hours and harsh work environment of restaurants. Or maybe you’re a foodie who enjoys cooking at home and would love to translate that passion into a business. In either case, starting a personal chef business could be an ideal business venture for you. You’ll get to live out your dream of making amazing food in a relaxed work environment, build lasting relationships with people, and make a great living at the same time.

What does a personal chef do?

The personal chef business model is admittedly new and innovative. Simply put, a Personal Chef Service provides clients with customized, nutritious, delicious, and affordable meals prepared in the comfort of their own home.

As a personal chef, you work with an individual client or family who hires you to visit their home two times a week, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly to prepare make-ahead meals. A big part of a personal chef service is building relationships with your clients, and having a solid understanding of their dietary concerns and specific food preferences.

56

Most personal chefs charge a fixed rate for their services, with the grocery cost being reimbursed by the client. And different than a private chef service, where you contract with just one family and are in their home almost every day, personal chefs cook for multiple clients in a week – typically 5 to 15.

In addition to a make-ahead meal service, most personal chefs will also do dinner parties and small catering events where they prepare the food at the client’s home.

Benefits of starting a personal chef business There are many reasons why a personal chef business is an attractive venture, including: LOW CAPITAL INVESTMENT: compared to other businesses in the foodservice industry, a personal chef business requires a very low initial investment and minimal ongoing expenses.

That means it’ll be easier to get to profitability, and the business is lower risk than other ventures because you shouldn’t need to take out a business loan. Since you’re doing the cooking in the client’s home and purchasing

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

food at a grocery store, you don’t need commercial space, equipment (aside from pots, pans, utensils, etc.), or inventory.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE: as a personal chef, when you work is dependent on the client’s availability and your availability.

Generally, no one is going to want their chef cooking in their home at midnight, so you avoid the late nights that plague restaurant workers. Plus, when you’re not cooking or marketing you can run the business from home so you can spend more time with your family.

RELATIONSHIP WITH CLIENTS: personal chefs really enjoy the lasting friendships they build with clients, especially those serviced on a long-term basis.

CREATIVE EXPRESSION: as a personal chef, you’re encouraged to utilize your creativity and make a wide variety of dishes for clients. There’s really no better way to familiarize yourself with cuisines from all over the world than being a personal chef.

EARNING POTENTIAL: simply put, if you play your cards right you can make more money as a personal chef than you could in other food service jobs.

EastAfricachef.com

ARE YOU A CHEF? WE HAVE YOUR COPY

REGISTER TO GET THE NEXT ISSUE FOR FREE* 0704 052 333 / 0733 585 480 jenny@eachef.com | eachef.com

*Copy to be picked from designated partners

CHEF OPPORTUNITIES

Great Side Hustle Business Ideas for Chefs

By Chef Magazine TEAM

M

any talented chefs across the country work long hours in stressful environments for little pay. While the love of the game is what keeps most culinary masters motivated, that won’t pay the bills or build a nest egg. That’s why savvy chefs with an enterprising streak should develop multiple side income streams. Any of the following ideas can make a competent chef a mint over the years when executed wisely.

Operate a Chef’s table specials In recent years, “Chef’s table” exist for anywhere from an evening to a week or more have exploded in popularity. They provide customers with a novel dining experience that established eateries can rarely match. For chefs, chef’s table events allow for quick profits without

58

the fixed costs associated with long-term establishments. They also make it easy to gauge the viability of a restaurant concept.

Create a Line of Food Products Easily one of the best ways to make money from your culinary reputation as

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

a top chef is by creating an array of retail foodstuffs. Opting for a canned product is the smartest way to go. Boutique mustard, salad dressing, peanut butter, salsa and sauerkraut are all popular items that can sell if you market the product intelligently.

Sell Ready-to-Cook Meals for Families If you’d like to get into the catering field, targeting busy families is a wise move.

Develop roughly a dozen different “meal packages” that include appetizers, salads and entrees to appeal to an array of consumers.

EastAfricachef.com

CHEF OPPORTUNITIES

Build a Food Subscription Service

Start a Food Festival

You don’t need to crank out homemade preserves to make a fortune in the micro food business. Rather, you could package up various high-quality products to create food baskets with a theme and send them out to customers on a monthly basis.

Making a festival a cash bonanza is all about gauging public interest and responding to that call. Before you launch a food festival, make connections to ensure that your festival is well received and garners a positive reputation.

Launch a Cooking Channel on YouTube

Grow and Sell Produce

A YouTube channel can be a revenue bonanza in the right hands regardless of its subject matter. You could create your own version of a Food Network program by putting out a series of spectacular cooking videos. As always, experiment with different topics that will appeal to various audiences and see what connects. Publish often to get enough data to work with for analytics purposes.

Publish a Niche Cookbook for Foodies Nowadays, creating your own book is easy thanks to platforms such as Amazon Publishing and Lulu. All you need is a free desktop editing suite like Scribus, a computer and a reliable internet connection. Use a DSLR or even your own camera phone to snap the right pictures.

If you plan out your garden in advance, you can easily grow thousands of kilos of produce. As a local chef, you’re in a good position to know what local restaurants and consumers want. Take a survey before you plant in big numbers to ensure that your plot returns significant profits at the end of the day.

Develop a custom tool for chefs When you’re in the kitchen all day long, you get a real feel for the deficiencies of most cooking gear. Maybe you’ve got an idea for a spatula that won’t mar a good hamburger in the making. Or perhaps you’ve got an idea for a wisk that creates the perfect omelette. Either

way, it’s easy to find a fabricator to take your concept from the drawing board to shops.

Become a dietary consultant If you’re a great chef, you know the exact nutritional qualities of every meal and each ingredient in it. That puts you in the front seat insofar as advising certain customers on the right meal plan for their dietary needs. That’s why setting up a dietary consultancy business makes so much sense for a chef. Talk to actual dietitians to figure out a game plan that won’t break any laws.

Start a restaurant business consultancy Nearly every restaurant that’s launched each year will fail quickly due to the naivete of the owners. A smart restaurateur leverages the know-how of a good chef who’s in tune with the local food industry trends to ensure their success. Position yourself as an expert on what works and what doesn’t to help entrepreneurs figure out budgets, menus and so forth.

Teach Cooking Classes in Person or Online Imparting your knowledge to others is the easiest way to make some side scratch when you’re not behind the oven. Organize a few community cooking courses and charge a few shillings per person to attend. If you want to really make some money, you could use a group chat on Skype, Google Meet, Zoom or Microsoft Teams to teach lessons for a variety of students all over the world.

Operate a food truck Whether you’re a kebab maestro or a Nyama Choma wizard, a food cart or truck is always a good way to bank serious cash. The key to sustainable profits is zeroing in on the right environment for your business. Events are always a great place to rake in the money as long as you match your specialty to the event in question.

Issue 6

KNOWING WHEN TO FISH OR CUT BAIT No matter how smart and well-prepared you are, many of your ideas might not be successful It’s important to plan for those challenges and have a back-up blueprint in place when reality hits. If you want to make money on side businesses as a chef, try to validate your business idea as soon as possible and don’t be afraid to change course if necessary.

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

59

CHEF OPPORTUNITIES

future of the kitchen?

A

virtual food court delivered straight to your door. A fresh take on new restaurants. A chance for customers to have control over their dining.

Ghost kitchens are popping up around the world and changing the way restaurants operate and customers dine. The shifting tide matches the growing trend of experiential retail and signals potential changes that could impact other industries.

What are Ghost restaurants?

Think of it as a co-working space for food or a restaurant without a storefront.

Also known as virtual kitchens, ghost kitchens strip down the traditional dining establishment by removing dining areas and fancy dĂŠcor. Instead, they serve as large kitchens for restaurants to prepare food to deliver to customers.

Numerous restaurants can operate out of the same ghost kitchen, either working from the same facility or breaking the space into separate areas. Customers can order from any combination of the restaurants in the same order and have it delivered all at once.

Other restaurants prefer to host their own virtual kitchens and use thirdparty delivery companies to streamline

60

logistics. The move allows the main restaurant to reach an entirely new group of customers looking for quality seafood delivered with a lower price tag.

The benefits of a ghost kitchen are numerous for dining companies. For one, restaurants can drastically cut their operating costs by having fewer employees and less square footage.

Without having to wash serving dishes or set tables, the companies can streamline operations, innovate and focus on creating quality menu items.

Ghost kitchens also provide opportunities for newer restaurants trying to make it in the notoriously risky industry. The initial investment to operate in a ghost kitchen is much smaller than opening a full dine-in

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

restaurant, which could allow more restaurants to take the plunge.

Ghost restaurants (also called dark kitchens, virtual kitchens, cloud kitchens, or headless restaurants) are popping up more and more. They are a departure from the traditional brick & mortar restaurant concept, having no seats, storefront, or waitstaff. Operating a ghost restaurant can help restaurateurs diversify curbside and takeout options while staying open and serving guests through this pandemic.

Ghost restaurants operate entirely online, allowing customers to order through third-party delivery services, and receive their food without any direct contact from the ghost restaurant itself.

Another option is native online ordering, meaning the ghost restaurant has an inhouse method for receiving online orders which cuts down on third-party costs.

Why Open a Ghost Restaurant?

Trends are constantly changing, meaning restaurateurs need to be in-the-know EastAfricachef.com

CHEF OPPORTUNITIES to stay afloat. More and more people are opting for delivery, rather than a sit-down meal. COVID-19 and social distancing measures have changed how restaurants operate — from February to April of 2020, we saw a 169% increase in the number of restaurants actively using Online Ordering as restaurants quickly innovated and pivoted to takeout and delivery. This, paired with an 840% increase in weekly sales via online ordering left some restaurateurs uniquely prepared to capture customers during the first waves of social distancing.

Ghost restaurants capitalize on the online ordering and delivery service models most restaurants are now required to work within, while reducing typical brick & mortar costs.

They are most profitable in highrent neighborhoods, where the need for expensive restaurant spaces is minimized while addressing a demand for specific dish in the area.

Pros of Opening a Ghost Restaurant Lower Overhead Cost Without a storefront, ghost restaurants are free to deploy new menu concepts or remove those that aren’t performing as well as the rest with ease. There is no need to update or change printed menus, simply update your offerings on delivery sites.

Meet and Exceed Online Ordering Demand Ghost restaurants have the opportunity to exist on the websites of multiple aggregate delivery services in addition to an in-house delivery system.

gap between supply and demand of their delivery radius.

Online Reputation

Cons of Opening a Ghost Restaurant

Managing a restaurant’s online reputation is important – more and more consumers are searching through the reviews to decide where they will eat next. Operating entirely online means your reputation lives online as well, and one bad Yelp review can significantly bring down your average rating.

Engineering Meals for Delivery

Third-Party Integrations

You’ll need to make sure your food is packaged in a way that will keep it intact for deliveries. Leave the sauces on the side to avoid a soggy sandwich and make sure your containers are properly insulated – ensure your guests are receiving just as good of an experience as they would in a traditional restaurant.

Companies like UberEats are convenient mobile ways to deliver to a growing customer base. Unfortunately, ghost restaurants have no control over the type of customer service these companies provide.

Increased Online Brand Awareness Operating entirely online enables ghost restaurants to adequately serve generations that exist in the digital world of application-based ordering.

Eliminating Touchpoints between restaurant & customer Ghost restaurants live solely online, meaning customers will not have the opportunity to pass your restaurant on the street and inquire about it.

A guest could have a bad experience entirely based off of their delivery service and opt to never order from your ghost restaurant again because of it. Using a native online ordering system in addition to third-party sites can help offset some of the third-party commission fees.

Quick Start-Up Ghost restaurants do not need to be located in a highly trafficked location, and given the current social distancing measures, this is a significant advantage.

Instead, owners can save money and rent an unassuming building without a need for large signage or foot traffic.

Data-Driven Insights Ghost restaurants limit the opportunity to get direct customer opinions. Instead, owners can rely on data to bridge the Issue 6

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

61

KITCHEN & COOKING TIPS

HOW READY IS YOUR STEAK? Serving steak at your guests’ requested meat temperature is an essential trick of the trade. A steak that is not done well enough or is overly cooked can irk guests and result in food waste. Learn how to serve a perfect steak every time by mastering the different steak doneness levels.

Steak Temperature Guide No matter the meat temperature, it’s always essential to follow safety temperatures and best practices, like keeping food out of the temperature danger zone.

In addition to the 6 classic meat temperatures, two other ways to prepare steak include tartare and the “black and blue” method. Steak tartare

is a completely raw meat dish and therefore does not need to be cooked to a certain temperature. “Black and blue” steak is cooked briefly on a hot flame, so the outside is charred, while the inside is cool with an internal temperature of around 110 degrees Fahrenheit. A warning advising customers about food safe temperatures is typically added to menus next to these dishes.

TESTING FOR DONENESS nn Use a meat thermometer or, preferably, an instant-read thermometer. nn Insert thermometer through the side of the cut, with the tip in the center, not touching any bone or fat. nn Remove steaks and burgers from the heat when the thermometer is 5°F lower than your desired doneness. nn Roasts should be removed from the heat when the thermometer is 5-10°F lower than your target. nn Rests steaks and roasts before serving. The temperature will continue to rise to meet the target while the beef is resting (i.e. carryover cooking).

62

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

EastAfricachef.com

CHEF EXPO BIGGER & BETTER

As one of the largest in East Africa, Chef Expo offers a onestop business platform featuring the most extensive line-up of leading HoReCa suppliers. It is the top choice for suppliers who are looking to establish their presence or further nurture their business networks with key buyers in East Africa’s fastest growing food and hospitality industry.

East Africa Chef Expo is the only event in the region to bring together all sectors relating to the Chef under one roof. The latest products, services and technologies will be showcased for the industry, along with a comprehensive and leadingedge networking opportunities that will provide foodservice operators with the best tools to grow and improve their business.

BOOK YOUR SPACE TODAY

0704 052 333 | 0777 333 368 jenny@eachef.com

KITCHEN & COOKING TIPS

How Long SHOULD YOU Let YOUR MEAT Rest?

W

hether you’re preparing a roast for a full course meal or a single steak for a quiet dinner at home, it is important to let your meat rest before digging in. But with the concern for time temperature abuse, how long should your meat sit out before it becomes an issue?

How long should your steak rest nn

If pressed for time, allow your meat to rest for a minimum of 5-7 minutes before cutting.

nn

If you have a thick cut of meat, allow it to rest for 10-20 minutes before cutting.

nn

Rest the meat for 5 minutes per inch of thickness.

nn

Rest the meat 10 minutes per pound.

nn

Rest the meat for 1 minute per every 100 grams.

the juices that have been constricted during the cooking process.

nn

Rest the meat for half the time it took to cook, or the whole time it took to cook if the meat is thicker.

If you were to cut a steak right off the grill, you’ll notice that the internal juices pool out of the meat, leaving you with a dry and tough final product. The reason for this is because of what happens to the muscle fibers when they are heated:

The goal with steak is to cool it to where the centre of the steak is between 48 - 54 degrees Celsius and the exterior is between 60 - 51 degrees Celsius.

However, if you use a probe thermometer to check the internal temperature, the juices will be expelled out of the puncture opening and the steak will lose some of its juices.

nn

When the steak or is heated, the muscle fibers constrict.

nn

This constriction pushes the juices in those fibers away from the heat

source and towards the center of the meat. nn

Since all of the moisture is concentrated in the center of the meat, it will pour out of the meat as soon as it is cut, making it look unappealing and bloody while taking the moisture and flavor with it.

nn

The steak ends up dry and flavorless.

When you let meat rest: nn

As the meat rests, the constricted muscle fibers begin to relax.

nn

The pressure on the juices is slowly released and the juices are able to redistribute towards the edges of the meat.

nn

By letting meat rest, you achieve an evenly moist and flavourful steak when it is ready to be cut.

How to Rest Steak nn

Remove the meat from the oven or off the burner.

nn

Transfer the meat to a cutting board, warm plate, or serving platter.

nn

Use aluminum foil to tent the pan loosley to retain some of the heat.

nn

Remove the foil after the appropriate rest time.

nn

Cut and promptly serve.

Why Do You Let Meat Rest?

It is important to let meat rest after cooking so it can reabsorb and distribute

64

Give your steak or grilled chicken the time it needs to rest before serving. Your guests and customers will be impressed by the flavourful results!

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

It may seem counterintuitive to let meat rest with the concern of it reaching unsafe food temperatures. However, because the meat continues to cook slightly after it is removed from the heat, your steak will still be at a safe temperature after resting.

EastAfricachef.com

LEARN AT

OPPORTUNITY FOR CHEFS TO LEARN & NETWORK

CHEF RECIPES

Ingredients 250 grams Ground Beef (80% lean and 20% fat) 1 onion (finely chopped) 2 cloves garlic (chopped) Fresh thyme (chopped) Black pepper (crashed) 20 grams Bread crumbs

Chef Rubia’s home made BBQ sauce 1 egg 20 grams melted butter 3 burger buns Mayonnaise 1 tomato Onion (rings) Hard lettuce Gherkins

Chef Rubia

Recipes

BBQ Gourmet Burger Procedure 1. Put the ground beef in a mixing bowl or container.

2. In a pan on medium heat, melt the butter and saute the finely chopped onions, garlic, fresh thyme, salt and pepper.

3. Add the sautéed vegetables in the ground beef and gently crumble the minced meat as you mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Add the egg and the breadcrumbs then season to taste.

4. Try to handle the meat as little as possible – the more you work it, the tougher it gets.

5. Gently shape the beef patty in around, flat shape of about 180 to 200 grams. In another pan, saute the mushrooms with chopped onions, garlic and ginger then season to season.

6. Cook the beef patties in a hot pan or grill to your preferred liking. On a different pan, cook the bacon till crispy.

7. Cut the burger bun in half then toast it, spread the mayonnaise on either side then place the hard lettuce followed by the tomato slices, onions the gherkins.

66

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

EastAfricachef.com

CHEF RECIPES

BBQ Chicken Wings Ingredients 1 kg Chicken wings

Salt and pepper

Chef Rubia’s home made BBQ sauce

Rose Mary herbs

1⁄2 medium sized Chopped onions

Paprika Soy sauce

1 table spoon garlic and ginger paste

Vegetable oil

Procedure 1. Add the oil, chopped rosemary, soy sauce, paprika, garlic and ginger paste, salt and pepper and finally add the wings in the marinade. Leave for a few hours or overnight for the marinade to infuse.

2. Pre-heat the oven for 5 minutes under 180 degrees and roast the wings on a b king tray for 15 to 20 minutes minutes.

Issue 6

3. In a different pan, sauté the chopped onions, garlic and ginger, add the BBQ sauce and finally the wings. Toss the pan to make sure the sauce mix evenly with the wings. Alternatively baste the wings with the BBQ sauce and return in the oven for five more minutes.

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

67

CHEF RECIPES

Zucchini & Pepper Caponata Ingredients 5 tablespoons EV olive oil

½ cup eggplants, unpeeled, cut into small cubes ¼ cup medium onion, cubed ½ cup cubed zucchini ½ cup cubed mixed bell peppers 1 large garlic cloves, chopped

Oven BBQ Ribs

½ diced tomatoes without seed 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar ¼ tablespoons capers

Ingredients 1 kg of beef or pork ribs BBQ sauce — use a good quality BBQ sauce for this recipe, to get the smoky flavor 4 garlic cloves (chopped) Paprika (1 table spoon) 1 tea spoon (shopped ginger)

½ table spoon chopped olive (Black & green) Corn oil or Olive oil — a little oil in the sauce gives even crispier, caramelized results when mixed through the barbecue sauce.

1 table spoon dark soy sauce Dried oregano herbs Salt and pepper for taste

2. Rub both sides of the pork spareribs or beef short ribs with marinade rub to cover both sides thoroughly, cover and refrigerate overnight.

3. Preheat the oven for 7 minutes under 200 degrees 4. Put the ribs on a baking tray sparingly and the meaty side up, cover with aluminium foil completely at the top and bake

68

¼ teaspoon dried oregano 1 tea spoon roasted pine seed Salt & black pepper to taste

Procedure 1. Heat oil in heavy bottomed pan over medium heat

Procedure 1. Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl except the BBQ Sauce.

3 chopped fresh basil

in the oven for 2 to 3 hours in the oven. After the time, carefully drain the drippings into a another pot 5. Remove the foil from the ribs and baste the BBQ sauce on both sides of the ribs generously, return the ribs in the oven under 200 degrees, the meaty side up and bake again for 15 to 30 minutes until the sauce courts, and caramelize on the ribs.

6. Remove and serve the ribs

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

2. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft 3. Add eggplant and cook until soft 4. Now mix zucchini, bell peppers and cook about 8 minutes.

5. Add diced tomatoes, then red wine vinegar, chopped olive & capers.

6. Cover and simmer until eggplant and onion are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes.

7. Season caponata to with salt and pepper 8. Flavor with fresh basil and dried oregano, mix roasted pine seed and finish with extra virgin olive oil EastAfricachef.com

CHEF RECIPES

Grilled Lamb Chops with Zucchini & Pepper Caponata Ingredients

Apple, Passion and Strawberry Mocktail Ingredients

Lamb chops 2 pcs

Cracked black pepper a pinch

Fresh thyme 1+2 sprig

Salt to taste

Chopped rosemary 1/4 teaspoon

Oil for marination

Freshly squeezed passion fruit juice 70 ml

Basil shredded 2 leaves

Butte for finishing

Frozen & minced strawberries 5 nos

Freshly pressed apple juice 75 ml

Cinnamon & basil syrup 20 ml

Garlic medium cloves 2

Lime juice 1 tea spoon

Procedure 1. Remove the fat from the bones 2. Place them on the paper towel and pat them dry 3. Season well with salt and pepper and flavor the lamb chops with all above written herbs (thyme 1, rosemary basil) 4. Drizzle oil on the meat and keep a side 5. Heat the grilling pan over a medium high heat. In the pan, place the chops narrow fat side down. You probably will need to use tongs to keep them balanced and to press the chops down so that the fat renders.

It will take almost 5 minutes.

Issue 6

Basil sprig 1 no 6. Once the fat has melted into the pan, lay the chops flat on one of their sides. Cook for another 3 minutes, until browned, then turn and cook on the other side.

7. Turn the heat to medium-low. Using a spoon, pour off most of the lamb fat and then add 2 tablespoons of butter, garlic and thyme.

8. Stir well until the butter is foaming, and spoon the butter over the lamb for a minute. Place lamb chops in a serving plate and serves with selfbutter jus & zucchini and pepper caponata.

Mint sprig 1 no

Garnish Fresh basil Florence & sweetened lime crisp

Procedure 1. Combine all ingredients except minced strawberries in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well.

2. Wipe the glass with clapped mint, add minced strawberries in the glass and pour the strained mocktail, stir with bar spoon & garnish with basil Florence and lime crisp.

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

69

Executive, Heron Portico Hotel

GRANOLA SERVINGS: 2 Persons TIME TO PREPARE: 20 mintues TIME TO COOK: 10 mintues TOOLS AND UTENSILS: stainless steel cantainer for mixing and baking

INGREDEINTS

200 gms Rolled pearl oats 15 gms sunflower seeds 15 gms pumpkin seeds 20 gms almonds 15 gms walnuts 20 gms cashewnuts 10 gms chia seeds

Chef Deepak

Kashyap Executive, Heron Portico Hotel

5 gms Cinnamon powder 100 gms honey 50 gms Blue berry 50 gms strawberry

PROCEDURE 1. In stainless steel gn pan mixed all ingredeints accept strawberry, blueberry, mint leafs, sweet banana and plain yoghurt.

2. Roast rest ingrdeints in oven at 170oc for 10 mintues.

2 gms mint leafs 2 numbers sweet banana

3. While serving in bowl base should be plain yoghurt and than arrange roasted mussilli and garnish with strawberry, blueberry and mint leafs.

NAIROBI - KENYA

FOR DETAILS

0704 052 333 / 0777 333368 jenny@eachef.com www.eastafricachef.com

70

EAST AFRICA CHEF MAGAZINE

EastAfricachef.com

NOW BOOKING

FEATURING 100+ • EAST AFRICA CHEFS • UNIQUE RECIPES • TOP SUPPLIERS

A place to find East Africa’s best chefs and their recipes. There will be a total of 100 chefs featured in this amazing collection. The photography received should be a work of art and the recipes as diverse as the chefs featured.

This book is produced to celebrate the East Africa Chef, a testament of their dedication and professionalism in creating the very best of meals.

Every Chef worth his/her salt should endeavour to be featured in the issue. It is a must-have book worth owning, reading and cherishing.

BOOK YOUR LISTING TODAY

JENNY: 0704 052 333 / 0777 333 368 jenny@eachef.com FLORAH: 0722 723 812 florah@eachef.com chefbook@eachef.com www.eastafricachef.com